Lebanon's Aoun says Beirut's demands in talks with Israel remain unmet, a day after Hezbollah's Qassem rejects giving up weapons

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Thursday 29 October that the progress Lebanon has sought in negotiations with Israel had not materialised, Lebanese media reported. Speaking to visiting German development minister Reem Alabali-Radovan, Aoun listed four issues Beirut has raised: a ceasefire agreement, an Israeli withdrawal, border demarcation and prisoners. He called on Israel to halt its attacks and comply with existing agreements, saying strikes on civilian areas were undermining efforts to restore stability, Arab News reported.

A day earlier, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem rejected disarmament under the US-brokered framework agreement reached in June, calling it “in effect, null and void”. “The resistance continues and will confront any aggression against it; there is no room for discussion regarding the surrender of its weapons,” he said in a statement.

Reuters reported on 26 October, citing Lebanese security personnel, that Hezbollah had spent three months preparing for a possible resumption of hostilities with Israel, rearming with Iranian funding and restoring command structures. Hezbollah’s media office rejected the suggestion that its systems had broken down and said Israel’s occupation of Lebanese territory made resistance a legitimate right. Israel has not commented on Qassem’s remarks in the reports cited.

Background

Israeli forces remain in parts of southern Lebanon. Nearly 330,000 people in Lebanon were still internally displaced as of late September, according to the International Organization for Migration. The United States has hosted Lebanon-Israel talks, including military talks in Tampa. See also: Lebanon-Israel talks in Tampa.