Tampa negotiations...an agreement on new meetings between Lebanon and Israel

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A source familiar with the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations in the American city of Tampa said that the last round took place in a positive atmosphere and resulted in an agreement to hold additional meetings between the two sides, although there is still a long way to reach tangible results.

The source said, in statements to Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath, that the Lebanese army reviewed the progress made in the experimental areas specified within the security arrangements, in addition to the smuggling operations it thwarted on the border with Syria.

These developments come within the framework of American efforts to advance the implementation of the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, which aims to arrange the security situation in the south, by enhancing the deployment of the Lebanese army and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory, in parallel with addressing the Hezbollah weapons issue.

But implementing the agreement faces obstacles, in light of the continued Israeli attacks and Hezbollah’s refusal to give up its weapons as long as Israeli forces are present in Lebanese territory, according to what Reuters reported.

Prior to the Tampa tour, the Lebanese presidency announced that its military delegation would raise the demand to stop Israeli attacks. Reuters also reported that Beirut is committed to establishing a mechanism to verify the implementation of security arrangements, allowing progress in the experimental areas and creating conditions for the deployment of the Lebanese army.

On the other hand, differences are emerging regarding who will be responsible for verifying the implementation of the arrangements, as Israel is pushing for direct coordination with the Lebanese army, while Beirut prefers to entrust the task to a third party.

Despite the agreement to complete the meetings, the basic issues related to stopping the attacks, the Israeli withdrawal, and verification mechanisms have not been resolved, which makes the next round a new test of the extent of the ability of American mediation to transform the continuation of the dialogue into actual progress on the ground.