Lebanese, Israeli negotiators discussed 'small joint projects', long-term vision is 'Trump economic zone'

The Trump administration has been tying to foster dialogue between Israel and Lebanon for nine months, U.S. news portal Axios has reported, hours after Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first talks in decades under the auspices of a year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism.

A U.S. official told Axios the U.S. hoped Wednesday’s meeting would help de-escalate tensions between the two sides and help to avoid a resumption of the war in Lebanon.

The meeting took place less than two weeks after the Israeli military assassinated Hezbollah's top military commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai in an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The Israeli government has told the Trump administration in recent months that the Lebanese government isn't doing enough to implement its decision to disarm Hezbollah, Israeli and U.S. officials told Axios.

The Israelis have warned the White House that if Hezbollah continues to rearm at the current rate it will be forced to resume the war to degrade the group again.

A U.S. official told Axios that the Trump administration believes the assassination of Hezbollah's top military commander gave the Israeli government more political maneuvering space and delayed a potential major Israeli operation in Lebanon.

“The Trump administration thinks that regardless of the rhetoric from some Israeli politicians and generals, a resumption of the war by Israel is not in the cards in the coming weeks,” the U.S. official said.

The Trump administration has been trying to launch direct talks between Israel and Lebanon since March, but neither party has been enthusiastic.

As tensions continued to rise in recent weeks, the Trump administration pressed both sides to send diplomats for direct talks with U.S. participation, a U.S. official said.

“The new U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, convinced the Lebanese government to participate despite the ongoing Israeli strikes, while U.S. diplomat Morgan Ortagus convinced the Israelis to take part despite their claims about Beirut's insufficient response to Hezbollah,” Axios said.

On Tuesday, Ortagus met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urged him to send a diplomat to the meeting. Ortagus told Netanyahu that while the Lebanese government can do more to stand up to Hezbollah, it's better for Israel than any previous Lebanese government in decades, a U.S. official said.

On Tuesday evening, both Israel and Lebanon agreed to send diplomats.

A source with knowledge told Axios that Wednesday’s meeting was mostly focused on the parties getting to know each other.

The source said the most substantive issue in the first meeting was economic cooperation between the two sides in southern Lebanon, especially when it comes to the reconstruction of areas affected by the war.

“While at the moment the parties are discussing small joint projects, the long-term U.S. vision is to establish a ‘Trump economic zone’ along the border which will be free of Hezbollah and heavy weapons,” a U.S. official told Axios.

The source briefed on the meeting said the parties agreed to meet again before the new year and come to the table with economic proposals that will help in confidence-building.

"All parties agree that the primary objective remains disarming Hezbollah. The three militaries will continue to work on it through the ceasefire mechanism," the U.S. official said.