Israeli ambassador halts talks with Lebanon, cites Beirut’s ‘repeated misleading leaks,’ source tells JNS

A second day of U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon ended early in Rome on Wednesday, after the Jewish state requested that negotiations be suspended, a source on the Israeli negotiating team told JNS.

Yechiel Leiter, Israeli ambassador to the United States and head of the Jewish state’s delegation, asked U.S. mediators to halt the talks about three hours before their scheduled conclusion. The envoy did so “following repeated misleading leaks by the Lebanese delegation,” according to the source.

Multiple media reports detailed purported developments from the negotiations on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was not immediately clear which of those leaks led to Leiter’s decision.

Talks are expected to resume on Thursday, the final scheduled day of this round, the source told JNS.

The Lebanese president’s office stated that “the American side asked the Lebanese and Israeli delegations to stop today’s meeting.” The pause was sought “to complete its contacts,” the office said.

Israeli and Lebanese technical teams opened a second round of negotiations in Rome on Tuesday, the seventh round of U.S.-facilitated talks aimed at implementing the trilateral framework agreement reached earlier this summer.

The current round follows separate White House meetings between U.S. President Donald Trump and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the launch of the first pilot zones in southern Lebanon.

“These discussions bring together technical teams from both governments to advance full implementation of the trilateral framework, including the pilot zone process, verified disarmament of Hezbollah and other Iran-backed security threats, redeployment of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and laying the ground for a comprehensive peace and security agreement,” Tommy Pigott, a U.S. State Department spokesman, said on Tuesday.

“The United States remains fully committed to supporting both governments as they carry this process forward in a manner that delivers lasting security for both countries, eliminates security threats to Israel and restores Lebanese state authority throughout the south,” Pigott stated.

An Israeli diplomatic source told JNS on Tuesday that the delegation in Rome is working through specialized groups focused on military coordination, land and maritime border issues and Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem denounced the Rome talks on Tuesday and called direct negotiations with Israel “shameful.” He claimed that the talks have brought Lebanon “nothing except shame, humiliation, disappointment and one concession after another,” a television network affiliated with the terror organization said.

“We are confronting a U.S.-Israeli aggression against Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, Iraq and Yemen aimed at extinguishing the flame of the resistance and colonizing the region,” Qassem said. “The Israeli enemy’s only option is a complete withdrawal, and it will withdraw.”

Ahead of the talks, Michel Issa, U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, expressed cautious optimism but said that significant technical work remains to ensure “civilian safety on the ground.”

“There is a meaningful difference between drafting an agreement on paper and implementing it responsibly,” the envoy said of the framework agreement between Jerusalem and Beirut.

“Moving too quickly risks jeopardizing the very civilians this process is meant to protect,” he added. He said that both sides “must agree on a clear, workable process before proceeding.”

After Wednesday’s shortened session, the Lebanese president’s office said that “the issue that advanced the most during today’s Rome meeting was the issue of Lebanon’s borders and international rights.”

“A division and sorting of the proposals regarding the third party responsible for the verification mechanism was achieved,” the office stated. “A serious discussion is underway on expanding the pilot areas. We are negotiating a complete cessation of the escalation, violations and attacks.”

The identity of the proposed third-party verifier has yet to be disclosed officially. Italian involvement has been reported.

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