Israel FM urges Lebanon to tie hands against Hezbollah

Israel’s Foreign Minister on Wednesday urged Beirut to make joint efforts with Israel to counter the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah ahead of talks between the countries set to resume in Washington.

“Tomorrow the direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will resume in Washington, DC. I call on the government of Lebanon and say let’s work together against the terror status that Hezbollah built in your territory,” Gideon Saar said in a speech to diplomats at a function marking Israel’s 78^th Independence Day.

“This cooperation is needed by you even more than by us. It requires moral clarity and the courage to take risks. But there is no real alternative for ensuring a future of peace for you and for us,” the minister mentioned to the Lebanese government.

Israel and Lebanon, which have no diplomatic relations, will hold fresh talks in Washington on Thursday, a State Department official said.

Israel conducted huge airstrikes across Lebanon and invaded the South after Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in support of its backer, Iran, on 2 March.

Despite a truce which began on Friday, Israeli soldiers are still active in south Lebanon, as Defence Minister Israel Katz said last week they would use ‘full force’ if threatened.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli military said that its troops killed two terrorists who violated the ceasefire understandings in the area of Saluki in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

The pair had crossed the forward defence line and approached soldiers, indicating an immediate threat, the military said.

An Israeli airstrike also killed one person and wounded two in Lebanon’s Bekaa region on Wednesday, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

The Israeli military has established a so-called ‘Yellow Line’ in southern Lebanon, near the border, where its forces are operating despite the ceasefire.

On Tuesday, it said that Hezbollah launched rockets towards soldiers stationed in south Lebanon and that the military struck the launcher in response.

It also said it had intercepted a drone fired from Lebanon before it crossed into Israeli territory.

Hezbollah said it had launched an attack on northern Israel in retaliation for what it said were Israeli ceasefire violations, the first such claim since the truce began.

Saar, in his speech on Wednesday, reiterated that Israel does not have any “serious disagreements” with Lebanon.

“Unfortunately, Lebanon is a failed state, a state that is de facto under Iranian occupation through Hezbollah,” he said.

“The obstacle to peace and normalisation between the two countries is one Hezbollah," he added.