Trump announces that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is extended for three more weeks

BarcelonaDonald Trump announced that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is extended for three more weeks after a high-level meeting at the White House. This extends the truce agreed upon a week ago between the Israeli and Lebanese governments, which initially established a ten-day period of cessation of Israeli attacks, following a month and a half of very intense Israeli bombings across the country and a ground invasion in the south. Although the agreement has reduced the intensity of the fighting, attacks have continued in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops have occupied a "security zone".

The American president welcomed the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, and the Lebanese ambassador, Nada Moawad, to the Oval Office this Wednesday for a second round of talks. However, the negotiations did not include any representative from Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian Shiite group fighting against Israel. "The meeting went very well! The United States will work with Lebanon to help it protect itself from Hezbollah - Trump wrote on Truth Social -. The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended for three weeks," he added. The extension also allows the Trump administration to gain time in parallel negotiations with Iran, which demanded that Tel Aviv cease attacks as a condition for sitting down to discuss any pact.

Trump, optimistic about the rapprochement between Beirut and Tel Aviv, said he expects Washington to also host negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the near future. In fact, he anticipates that leaders from both countries will meet during the three weeks of ceasefire and is convinced that there is "a great possibility" of them reaching a peace agreement this year.

Ambassador Moawad, who attended the meeting requesting an extension of the ceasefire, thanked Trump for hosting the talks. "I believe that with your help, with your support, we can make Lebanon great again," she said, emulating the slogan "Make America Great Again". Beirut had stated that it would push for Israel's withdrawal from the south, the return of Lebanese detainees in Israel, and a delimitation of the land border in a subsequent phase of negotiations.

The role of Hezbollah

The negotiations are historic because they are the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in 34 years. But Hezbollah's exclusion casts doubt on the pact's durability. Without their approval, the implementation of whatever is decided will be extremely complex in a large part of Lebanese territory, considering the terrible relations between the Lebanese government and Hezbollah.

The Israeli ambassador stated during the meeting that the talks must focus on eradicating Hezbollah rather than withdrawing Israeli troops. "If Hezbollah and IRGC operatives continue to be treated with kid gloves, the process to achieve our mutual objective will remain unattainable," Leiter said, referring to the common goal of disarming Hezbollah.

A spokesman for the Hezbollah militia, Hassan Fadlallah, said the group wanted the ceasefire to continue, but "on the basis of full compliance by the Israeli enemy." He reiterated Hezbollah's objections to face-to-face talks and urged the government to cancel all forms of direct contact with Israel.

Trump also asked Lebanon to abolish laws against interaction with Israel. "Is it a crime to talk to Israel?" he responded when asked about the statutes known as anti-normalization laws, of which he seemed unaware. "Well, I'm pretty sure this will end very quickly. I'll make sure of it," Trump said.