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.”

The talks were mediated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other American diplomats.

After the meeting, the US, Israel and Lebanon issued a joint statement saying they had held “productive discussions toward launching direct negotiations” between Beirut and Jerusalem.

“The United States congratulated the two countries on this historic milestone and expressed its support for further talks, and for the government of Lebanon’s plans to restore the monopoly of force and to end Iran’s overbearing influence,” the statement said.

Hezbollah staunchly opposes the peace talks and responded by bombarding Israel as the summit began, triggering warning sirens across the Galilee.

Leiter told reporters the two sides “discovered today that we’re on the same side of the equation, and that’s the most positive thing we could have come away with”.

“We are both united in liberating Lebanon from an occupation power dominated by Iran called Hezbollah,” he said.

Praising the Lebanese government for bucking Hezbollah’s call to withdraw from the talks, Leiter declared the meeting “the beginning of a very strong, fortified and consistent battle against Hezbollah”.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel sought “to reach peace and normalisation with the state of Lebanon”, adding that “Israel and Lebanon don’t have any major disputes between them. The problem is Hezbollah”.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed hope the meeting would “mark the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people in general and the residents of the south in particular”.

Leibler said the direct engagement was an important acknowledgement that both governments had a shared interest in restoring security and weakening Hezbollah’s grip.

“The people of Lebanon are not Israel’s enemy. Hezbollah is,” he said.