US-brokered Lebanon-Israel talks conclude 7th round in Rome

Shafaq News- Rome

Lebanon and Israel concluded a third day of US-sponsored negotiations in Rome on Thursday afternoon, with a further round tentatively set for September 1, according to sources with direct knowledge of the talks.

The two delegations exchanged preliminary lists of detainees and missing persons but reached no final agreement on the core territorial questions, the sources said, adding that Lebanon pressed for the release of a first group of civilian detainees as quickly as possible, and received a pledge from the American side that it would provide answers on a ceasefire.

The lists Lebanon submitted covered detainees and missing persons, while the Israeli delegation presented a list of names of Lebanese Jews recorded as missing or killed. Lebanon insisted that any exchange begin with the release of civilians.

The two sides opened work on drafts of a new security agreement to govern the border and its arrangements, with its legal authority to rest either with the United Nations or the United States. They reached a short list of parties that would oversee monitoring, and agreed to turn to the UN Security Council for a new resolution to serve as the international reference point after UNIFIL, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, deployed along the boundary since 1978.

No final results were reached on the so-called model zones. Lebanon sought to move on to new areas, while Israel insisted on first verifying the two initial zones. A full mapping survey of the occupied area was completed to establish a sequential timetable for the zones, and the Israeli delegation was to refer the matter to its political leadership for a decision. On the military track, discussion of the reference concepts and terminology was completed in full.

The American side undertook to follow up on the detainee and border files with both parties before the next session, tentatively scheduled for September 1.

Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc condemned the government's “continued policy of negotiating with the enemy” despite its attacks and violations. In a statement, the bloc called on the authorities to halt the talks and the concessions, which it said had brought Lebanon nothing but the forfeiture of its rights and sovereignty.

Read more: Eight people injured in Israeli strikes on South Lebanon