The most important answers to the historic negotiations between Israel and Lebanon

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• The Iran war has also fueled a massive escalation between Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon.
• For the first time in decades, the Lebanese government and Israel will hold direct talks at political level today, Tuesday.
• They will take place at 11 a.m. (local time, 5 p.m. CEST) in Washington.
• In addition to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Lebanese ambassador to the USA and the Israeli ambassador in Washington will take part.
• The most important questions and answers at a glance.

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The Iran war has also fueled a massive escalation between Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon. After more than six weeks of war, a historic meeting is now taking place: For the first time in decades, the Lebanese government and Israel will hold direct talks at a political level today.

They will take place at 11 a.m. (local time, 5 p.m. CEST) in the US capital Washington. In addition to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Lebanese ambassador to the USA, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and the Israeli ambassador in Washington, Jechiel Leiter, will also take part. The most important questions and answers at a glance.

For the second time in around two years, Israel and Hezbollah are engaged in open warfare in Lebanon. An interim ceasefire was extremely fragile. Both sides accused each other of constant violations. Despite the ceasefire, Israel continued to attack Lebanon on an almost daily basis and also maintained positions in several places in the neighboring country. With the war in Iran, Hezbollah also fired rockets towards Israel again.

Israel and Lebanon are initially pursuing different goals for the talks. The Lebanese government is primarily aiming for immediate de-escalation. Israel, on the other hand, wants to implement fundamental security policy changes.

The newspaper "Israel Hajom" reported, citing a high-ranking US diplomat, that the aim of the negotiations is a gradual normalization of relations and Lebanon's accession to the so-called Abraham Accords. These were initiated by US President Donald Trump in 2020 during his first term in office. As a result, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan normalized their relations with Israel.

Israeli airstrikes also targeted the center of Beirut. (archive picture)

Picture: dpa

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his country wants a "lasting peace agreement" with neighboring Lebanon. According to the Israeli head of government, the disarmament of the Hezbollah militia should also be the focus of the negotiations.

According to Israeli media, however, the country does not want to immediately cease its military action against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in neighboring Lebanon simply because negotiations have begun, as the Lebanese government is demanding. However, the intensity of Israeli attacks in the capital Beirut has recently decreased significantly - reportedly under pressure from the US government. However, fighting continues in the south. Iran had initially threatened to call off the recently agreed ceasefire with the USA in view of the Israeli attacks on its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.

According to Israel, it is fighting Hezbollah so that the population in northern Israel can live in safety. Hezbollah is currently repeatedly firing rockets and drones at the area. But the war is also devastating for the Lebanese civilian population. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by Israeli attacks and ground operations. Civilians are among the more than 2,000 people killed. Israel speaks of more than 1,400 Hezbollah members killed.

The Lebanese government is in a complex situation. It is not an active warring party in the current conflict. On the one hand, it wants to avoid further escalation and ensure stability in its own country; on the other hand, it has only limited influence over Hezbollah, which is financed and partly controlled by Iran. The current government has positioned itself more clearly against Hezbollah than any of its predecessors. Since the outbreak of the Iran war in particular, it has taken several measures to push back Iranian influence in the country. President Joseph Aoun has already spoken out in favor of talks with Israel on several occasions. The government would like to enforce a ceasefire independent of Iran in order to decouple itself from the Islamic Republic.

At the same time, however, it must also maintain a balance: Around a third of the population in the multi-confessional country are Shia Muslims. There have already been repeated unrest and demonstrations against the government's decision to hold talks with Israel.

Hezbollah rejects the talks between the government and Israel. Its main concern is to secure its military and political role in the country. It wants the ceasefire in Lebanon to be part of the Iran-US negotiations, i.e. not dealt with separately. Hezbollah is particularly unwilling to accept the disarmament of the militia demanded by Israel without something in return. It is demanding the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops in the country. Observers assume that Iran could demand more power for the Shiite community in Lebanon if Hezbollah is disarmed. Hezbollah sees itself as a "resistance force" against its declared arch-enemy Israel.