Israel proposes NGO for verification, rejects nations proposed by Lebanon

The negotiations between Lebanon and Israel have run into Israeli conditions and Lebanese reservations, media reports said.

“Things remain at a standstill pending the crystallization of the Israeli political landscape after the elections,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday.

As for the latest Tampa talks, Lebanon rejected an Israeli proposal, which suggested that the mission of monitoring the truce and the pilot zones be assigned to a non-governmental organization (NGO) instead of forces belonging to European or African countries, the daily said.

“The Israeli delegation rejected the countries proposed by the Lebanese side … while Beirut considered that assigning the monitoring role to an NGO … constitutes an infringement on Lebanese sovereignty and an unprecedented precedent,” Nidaa al-Watan added.