A new round of U.S.-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon will be held in Italy on Aug. 4, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Wednesday.
Tajani told parliament that Rome will host the seventh round of direct dialogue between the two countries, following meetings held in the Italian capital last week. Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter, who heads the Israeli delegation, revealed the Aug. 4 resumption date to JNS at the end of the last round of talks.
The announcement comes after the Israel Defense Forces began withdrawing from pilot zones in Southern Lebanon following the previous round of talks, a move intended to allow the Lebanese Armed Forces to assume control of those areas.
The Rome meetings follow initial rounds of U.S.-brokered talks in Washington which led to representatives of Beirut and Jerusalem reaching a framework agreement on June 26 during the fifth round of negotiations.
The 14-point Israel-Lebanon Trilateral Framework Agreement calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, and Jerusalem has emphasized that a full Israeli withdrawal will occur only once the threat from the Iranian terror proxy is removed.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, with Trump pledging to support Lebanon’s efforts to restore stability and expressing hope that the country will eventually join the Abraham Accords.
