Lebanese president says security deal with Israel must come before Netanyahu meeting

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BEIRUT - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on May 4 said a security deal and an end to Israeli attacks were needed before any meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was sought by Washington.

Mr Aoun’s office said in a statement that the president “reiterated his view that the timing is not appropriate now for a meeting” with Mr Netanyahu.

The statement quoted Mr Aoun as saying: “We must first reach a security agreement and stop the Israeli attacks on us before we raise the issue of a meeting between us.”

Israeli and Lebanese representatives last month met twice in Washington – the first such meetings in decades, which came after Iran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2, sparking heavy Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.

After the first talks, US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon that began on April 17, and a three-week extension after the second round.

The two countries are preparing for direct negotiations.

The statement from Mr Aoun’s office said a third round of “preparatory talks” were expected “in the coming days”.

At the second meeting later in April, Mr Trump said he expected Mr Aoun and Mr Netanyahu to meet jointly with him at the White House “over the next couple of weeks”.

Last week, the US embassy in Beirut urged such a meeting, saying that “Lebanon stands at a crossroads. Its people have a historic opportunity to reclaim their country and shape their future,” adding that “the time for hesitation is over”.

‘No loss’

The planned negotiations have caused a rift in Lebanon, with Hezbollah rejecting direct negotiations as well as Beirut’s previous commitment to disarm it.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem earlier on May 4 criticised direct talks, saying they put Lebanon “under tutelage”, and instead called for diplomacy that leads to an end to the war.

“Direct negotiations are a gratuitous concession, without results,” Mr Qassem said.

Mr Aoun said “there is no turning back from the path of negotiations, because we have no other option”, according to the statement from his office, reiterating that the process sought to achieve the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.

Earlier Monday, US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa told journalists that “to me, if the president (Aoun) visited President Trump, there is no loss”.

Mr Aoun “can go and present his decisions clearly” to Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu, and after returning to Lebanon “we can begin negotiations. I don’t know why people consider this a loss or concession”, Mr Issa said.

Mr Aoun “will go to present all Lebanon’s demands, most importantly the sovereignty of its lands”, Mr Issa said, noting full Lebanese territorial sovereignty was a key Hezbollah demand.

Hezbollah says fighters clashed with Israeli troops in south Lebanon

Hezbollah said its forces clashed with Israeli soldiers on May 4 in south Lebanon near the border where the troops are still operating, despite a fragile ceasefire since April 17.

The Iran-backed group said in a statement that after Israeli troops attempted to advance near the town of Deir Seryan, its fighters “opened fire on the enemy force and engaged in heavy clashes with them”.

Deir Seryan is inside the Israeli-declared “yellow line” running up to 10km deep along the length of the border in south Lebanon, where residents have been told not to return.

The Israeli military confirmed there were clashes with Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon.

“Earlier today, two IDF (army) soldiers were moderately injured as a result of a close-quarters encounter with Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.

“The soldiers were evacuated to receive medical treatment at a hospital.”

Hezbollah also claimed a series of other attacks on Israeli military targets in south Lebanon that it said were in response to “the Israeli enemy’s violation of the ceasefire”.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli air strikes on more than 20 south Lebanon locations, some of them towns where the Israeli military had told residents to evacuate.

Lebanon’s army said that “an officer and a soldier were lightly wounded” in an Israeli strike on the town of Kafra “while they were travelling in a military vehicle between army posts”.

According to Lebanon’s health ministry, Israeli strikes since March 2 when the latest war erupted with Hezbollah have killed nearly 2,700 people and wounded more than 8,200.

Under the ceasefire, Israel reserves the right to act against “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks”. AFP