“Direct negotiations”. Criticized for continuing the offensive in Lebanon, Netanyahu announces new instructions for his cabinet
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had instructed his cabinet to initiate direct talks with Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah and establish “peaceful relations” between the two countries, AFP wrote.
Netanyahu said the decision comes amid “repeated requests by Lebanon to open direct negotiations with Israel” and that he wants talks to begin “as soon as possible.”
“Negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates today's call by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarize Beirut,” according to a statement from Netanyahu's office.
Israel, criticized for continuing attacks in Lebanon
Both Israel and the United States said the truce announced by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday night in the war with Iran did not cover Lebanon, where Israeli forces have launched a campaign against the pro-Iranian Shiite militia Hezbollah.
The interpretation was contested by both Iran and Pakistan, which helped broker the ceasefire agreement.
On Wednesday, after Trump's ceasefire announcement, Israel attacked more than 100 targets in Lebanon, killing 203 people and injuring more than 1,000 others, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. It was the bloodiest day in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, according to The New York Times.
Germany's chancellor said on Thursday that “the severity with which Israel is waging war there could lead to the failure of the entire peace process.” Friedrich Merz said he and other European leaders urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the attacks in Lebanon.
British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper criticized the Israeli escalation and warned that not including Lebanon in the ceasefire agreement “will destabilize the whole region”.
Possession of weapons in Beirut, allowed only to the state
The Lebanese government announced on Thursday that only state institutions will be able to possess weapons in Beirut.
“The army and security forces are requested to immediately begin to consolidate the full imposition of state authority over the Beirut governorate and ensure the monopoly of arms only in the hands of the legitimate authorities,” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said at the end of a cabinet meeting, quoted by AFP.
The Lebanese government had banned Hezbollah's military activities since early March, shortly after the war broke out, but the organization continued to carry out military operations.
