Lebanon–Israel: military talks today at CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa – Beirut says “no” to direct coordination with the Israeli army

Military delegations of Lebanon and Israel are meeting on Tuesday, October 20 at the headquarters of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) in Tampa, Florida, in a trilateral format with US participation. The Lebanese delegation will put on the table “the Lebanese demands for a halt to the Israeli escalation, in the hope of results compatible with the framework agreement”, the Lebanese Presidency announced.

Beirut goes to the meeting with a clear red line. A Lebanese political official told The National that the question of direct military coordination with Israel “is raised constantly, but we always answer no, we will not do it”. “There are Israelis and Lebanese, with the Americans in the middle. That is how it is and how it will stay. Our position has always been that there must be a third party for verification,” he added. A military source said no major decisions are expected, nor an expansion of the “pilot zones”, and that the verification mechanism will not be set up at this meeting.

Pilot zones and the framework agreement

The “pilot zones”, where Hezbollah is disarmed, Israel withdraws and the Lebanese army takes over, were defined in July, without an agreed verification mechanism. The framework agreement was signed in Washington on June 26 and provides for an Israeli withdrawal, the Lebanese army taking over the South, and the disarmament of Hezbollah. Last month it was decided to formally separate the political and military tracks of the negotiations.

UNIFIL and the “third party”

President Joseph Aoun asked for an extension of UNIFIL’s mandate, or the continuation of its duties in 2027. If that does not happen, Lebanon accepts “any formula” that secures an international presence in the South, prevents a vacuum and does not bring the Lebanese army into contact with the Israeli army in the occupied areas. Beirut wants the UN as a “third party” between the two armies. According to the Presidency, Israel continues attacks on villages in the South, house demolitions and obstruction of farmers, without observing the framework agreement reached under American auspices.

On Monday Aoun told Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy that Lebanon insists on the diplomatic solution, despite its difficulty, “because it costs far less than a devastating war”. On the Israeli side, Netanyahu said on Sunday that he does not trust the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah and that, as long as it is not disarmed, Israel will remain in the zone that, as he put it, “changed the situation in the North”.