ZFA welcomes historic Israel-Lebanon talks

Israel and Lebanon held their first direct talks in decades on Tuesday, with the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) saying the meeting reflected that Hezbollah is “the enemy of both states and both civilian populations”.

The roughly two-hour meeting in Washington between Israel’s Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter and his Lebanese counterpart Nada Hamadeh Moawad marked the highest-level meeting between Israeli and Lebanese officials since Israel’s establishment in 1948.

ZFA president Jeremy Leibler said the talks underscored that Israel’s conflict was not with the Lebanese people, but with an Iranian-backed terrorist organisation.

“For years, families in northern Israel have lived under the threat of rockets and cross-border attacks, while the people of Lebanon have seen their country’s sovereignty steadily undermined by Hezbollah and the interests of Tehran,” Leibler said.

“The same terrorist organisation that has displaced Israeli civilians from their homes has also held the Lebanese people hostage, dragging their country into repeated conflict and instability.”