Lebanon and Israel end sixth round of US-brokered talks

A US official said the two sides made progress on a plan for Israel to withdraw from ‘pilot zones’ in southern Lebanon.Lebanese and Israeli officials have ended another round of US-mediated talks, focusing on a plan to establish “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon from which Israeli forces would begin withdrawing.The two-day diplomatic talks in Rome ended on Wednesday, with a US official calling the meetings “productive and positive”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘Will not leave’: Is Israel killing the US-Iran MoU by staying in Lebanon?list 2 of 3Lebanon-Israel deal betrays ‘victims of war crimes’, rights groups saylist 3 of 3Israeli attack on vehicle in Lebanon kills at least fourend of list“We agreed on the structure and guidelines for the pilot zone process, to be finalised ⁠and implemented in the coming days,” the US official said in comments sent to news agencies.Under a US-brokered June 26 framework deal, Israeli forces are to withdraw from the large swaths of southern Lebanon they are occupying, in exchange for disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.The deal was supposed to begin with two pilot zones where the Israeli military is to turn over control to the Lebanese army, which would clear the areas of any Hezbollah presence.Wednesday’s statement did not specify where the pilot zones would be. German news agency dpa cited government sources as saying the zones being discussed included the towns of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, al-Ghandouriyah, Burj Qalawiyah, Sarifa and Frun.‘Very pivotal moment’Neither Israel nor Lebanon have commented on the status of the latest talks. But a US ⁠official said talks would move to a technical phase to implement the framework deal and reach a “comprehensive agreement” between the two states.Sami Halabi, director of policy at the think tank Badil: The Alternative Policy Institute, said the pilot zone initiative will test Israel’s willingness to withdraw from Lebanon, the US’s leverage over Israel as well as the Lebanese army’s ability to reestablish its presence.