FIRST ON FOX: Reports that surfaced on Wednesday suggesting Israel and Lebanon were pursing “normalization” ties have been “overblown” and risk hurting actual hard-fought discussions, a U.S. official familiar with the talks told Fox News Digital.
Israeli reports, citing an anonymous senior Israeli official, claimed that renewed talks with Lebanon were aimed at reaching a standard diplomatic relationship between the two nations, just months after a ceasefire agreement was reached following Jerusalem’s offensive against Hezbollah.
But the U.S. official, who also requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the Israel-Lebanon talks, said border security is the main priority at this moment.
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The “current focus is ridding Lebanon of Hezbollah and corrupt officials,” the U.S. official emphasized.
“Normalized” ties between Israel and other nations in the Middle East were a cornerstone of the first Trump administration, which looked to bring security to Israel by establishing diplomatic ties between Jerusalem and its Arab neighbors.
But relations in the Middle East have drastically shifted since 2021, when Trump left office.
Not only is Israel staring down the glaring issue of Hamas – which still holds 59 hostages, 58 of whom were taken by the terrorist group during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks – but the “day after” plan for the Gaza Strip remains unclear.
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As negotiations between the U.S., Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Hamas continue, the threat posed by other Iran-backed terrorist networks remains – particularly when it comes to the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Biden administration, alongside France, helped broker a 60-day ceasefire in late November between Israel, Hezbollah and Lebanon that intended to end the hostilities by dismantling the terrorist organization in southern Lebanon coupled with the withdrawal of Israeli forces – neither were ever fully realized.
Despite the end of the ceasefire in late January, the security situation in southern Lebanon has remained relatively stable, though it continues to be a precarious situation.
Working groups that will encompass U.S., Israeli and Lebanese officials, are being established to renew talks on unresolved issues relating to prisoner releases, border disputes and the presence of IDF troops in southern Lebanon – which currently remain in a move to safeguard Israelis living in the country’s north.
Talks between officials from Washington, Jerusalem and Beirut are not expected to begin until April and will focus on removing the threat Hezbollah poses to Israel and regional stability.
The U.S. official familiar with the talks told Fox News Digital that any suggestion of establishing formal diplomatic ties, like those forged with the UAE and Bahrain, were “premature.”
Fox News Digital could not reach Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office for comment.
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