Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak with Lebanese President Michel Aoun in a historic first direct contact between the nations’ leaders.
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak with Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Thursday. The call marks the first direct contact between the nations’ leaders in many years.
Israel’s Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology Gila Gamliel confirmed the planned conversation. She is a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party.
“This move will hopefully ultimately lead to prosperity and flourishing for Lebanon as a state,” Gamliel told Israeli Army Radio. She described it as a shift from containment to eradicating threats from those who seek to harm Israel.
Her statement referred specifically to the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Netanyahu outlined two central objectives for the talks on Wednesday.
He stated the goals are “first, the dismantling of Hezbollah; second, a sustainable peace… achieved through strength.” The agreement for direct negotiations was reached during a meeting between their ambassadors in Washington on Tuesday.
Lebanese ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad said she called for a ceasefire in Lebanon during that meeting. Israel has so far rejected such a ceasefire.
A Lebanese official source told AFP they were “not aware of any planned contact with the Israeli side.” The source added they had not been informed through official channels.
Hezbollah has condemned the talks, calling them “capitulation.” The office of Prime Minister Netanyahu made no comment when asked by AFP.
US President Donald Trump had previously said the leaders would speak for the first time. Gamliel’s confirmation was the first from an official Israeli source.
