Rome talks split Lebanon, Israel

U.S.-brokered talks in Rome resumed on Wednesday with Lebanese and Israeli officials still at odds over the order in which any deal would be carried out. The negotiations are meant to pair an Israeli pullback from parts of southern Lebanon with steps to remove Hezbollah’s weapons from those areas, but Lebanese and Israeli officials have described different conditions for moving ahead. The Rome meetings came as a parallel dispute over Gaza widened, with an envoy from the Trump-backed Board of Peace pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt strikes while regional mediators accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire. The overlap has left diplomacy moving on multiple tracks at once, with the same core argument running through both: who disarms first, and when troops pull back. ### Why did the Rome talks resume this week? Rome hosted the second day of the second round of talks on August 5, and the seventh round overall after five earlier sessions in Washington, according to Al Jazeera’s reporting citing a senior Lebanese official. The talks are intended to reinforce a June 26 framework under which Israeli forces would withdraw from parts of southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army would take over, tied to the disarmament of non-state armed groups, including Hezbollah. (aljazeera.com) Tuesday’s discussions were split into political and military tracks, the Lebanese official told Anadolu through Al Jazeera. Lebanon presented its border position in the political session, while the military track dealt with how to verify Israeli withdrawal and how security arrangements involving Hezbollah’s weapons would be implemented. (aljazeera.com) ### Where are Lebanon and Israel still stuck? A senior Lebanese official said Israel had, for the first time, stepped back from demanding that Hezbollah’s disarmament be discussed before the border file, but the sides were still not aligned on commitments under the ceasefire. Lebanon said it had received no answer from the Israeli political side on its commitment to the truce, according to the same official. (aljazeera.com) The June 26 framework itself set out what Al Jazeera described as a “sequenced process,” with the Lebanese army restoring authority over southern territory pending verified disarmament of armed groups. That language left room for dispute over whether withdrawal and disarmament should move in tandem or one before the other, and that dispute has carried into Rome. (aljazeera.com) ### Why is Ali Taher Hill getting so much attention? Ali Taher Hill, near Nabatieh, became one of the most specific disputes in the current round. Israel says the site contains a Hezbollah command center and underground weapons facilities and wants the Lebanese army to secure it and dismantle the group’s infrastructure there as one of several proposed “pilot zones,” according to the Lebanese official cited by Al Jazeera. (aljazeera.com) Beirut’s response has been that there are no Israeli units there for Lebanese forces to replace, the official said. Lebanon instead asked that the next pilot zone be in Khiam or Bint Jbeil, where the Lebanese army would assume full security responsibility and prevent Hezbollah’s return in exchange for a limited Israeli withdrawal. (aljazeera.com) ### How does Gaza fit into the same diplomatic picture? Nikolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, met Netanyahu on Monday to discuss a disarmament arrangement the board said it had reached with Hamas and to urge a halt to Israeli strikes, according to a statement reported by AP. The Board of Peace said the talks with Netanyahu and his team were “constructive and detailed.” (aljazeera.com) Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that Israel will not end the war until Hamas is disarmed, a position that mirrors Israel’s insistence in Lebanon that armed groups must be stripped of weapons under any withdrawal arrangement. Hamas said on Monday it remained committed to the second phase of the ceasefire and was awaiting “a clear and official response” from Mladenov and the mediators. (religionnews.com) ### What are Egypt, Qatar and Turkey accusing Israel of doing? Egypt, Qatar and Turkey denounced the latest Israeli strikes in a joint statement on Monday, saying attacks on healthcare facilities, medical infrastructure and civilians amounted to a violation of international law and humanitarian law, according to AP’s report carried by Religion News Service. Their statement added public pressure from three mediators already involved in Gaza ceasefire talks. (hindustantimes.com) In southern Lebanon, Lebanon has also asked Israel to stop demolitions and bombings, including strikes last week around Beaufort Castle, according to the Lebanese official cited by Al Jazeera. Those complaints have fed into the Rome talks over how any withdrawal would be monitored and who would verify compliance. ### What happens next in Rome? (religionnews.com) Italy was mentioned in reports as a possible third party to verify an Israeli withdrawal and supervise the Lebanese army’s takeover of any pilot zones, according to the Lebanese official cited by Al Jazeera. That verification question is now part of the negotiations alongside the choice of locations for any first withdrawals. (aljazeera.com) The next Rome session is expected to continue work on pilot zones, monitoring arrangements and the conditions for further Israeli pullbacks, with Lebanese and Israeli political and military officials still involved. In Gaza, the Board of Peace, Mladenov and the mediators — Egypt, Qatar and Turkey — remain the named participants in the next phase of ceasefire and disarmament talks. (aljazeera.com)