After weeks of uncertainty, Israel and Lebanon finally met face to face in Washington on Tuesday. The two hours that followed revealed just how far apart they remain.
For the first time since 1993, Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors sat in the same room at the US State Department. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was present. The State Department called it “the first major high-level engagement” between the two countries in over three decades.
Both sides described the meeting as “constructive.” Then both sides walked out with completely opposite positions still intact. Lebanon called for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian relief. Israel refused to discuss a ceasefire at all and pushed instead for Hezbollah’s disarmament. While they were talking, Hezbollah launched 24 attacks on northern Israel. Israel continued striking southern Lebanon. Nothing stopped.
The gap between the two sides is not just political, it is structural. Israel wants to deal with the Lebanese state. But the Lebanese government does not control Hezbollah. Hezbollah sits in parliament, operates independently and is backed and directed by Tehran. Its leader Naim Qassem called the talks “futile” before they even began.
Both sides agreed to meet again at a time and venue still to be announced. Meanwhile Israel is reportedly planning a long-term military occupation of southern Lebanon stretching to the Litani River. The diplomacy is just getting started. The war is nowhere near finished.
