Lebanon, Israel agree on countries that could verify Hezbollah disarmament — official

A Lebanese official said Friday that Lebanon and Israel have agreed on a shortlist of countries that could send troops to verify Hezbollah's disarmament under a US-brokered deal. The US will pick from the list. The talks, held in Rome, aim to implement a June 26 agreement linking Israel's withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament. Hezbollah refuses to disarm. Beirut rejected private security firms. Next talks set for early September.

A Lebanese official said on Friday that Lebanon and Israel have agreed on a shortlist of countries that could send troops to verify Hezbollah's disarmament under a US-brokered agreement. The United States is due to pick countries from the list. The official declined to identify the countries or say how many there were. Another Lebanese official and two foreign diplomats have previously told Reuters that Israel and the US had vetoed France. The list was produced during meetings between Lebanon and Israel at the US embassy in Rome this week, the latest round of talks on implementing a June 26 deal that links Israel's progressive withdrawal of troops from Lebanon to the disarmament of Hezbollah, which would be verified by a third party. Hezbollah is not a party to the agreement and has refused to give up its arsenal. The Lebanese official said Beirut had rejected an earlier proposal for private security companies to serve as third-party verifiers. A framework for foreign troops in Lebanon would need to be agreed, possibly housing them under UNIFIL, whose mandate expires at the end of this year. The talks did not produce an agreement on the next area for Israeli withdrawal; Beirut proposed Bint Jbeil and Khiam. The next round is set for early September. The negotiations picked up amid heavy cross-border fighting, with the IDF striking Hezbollah targets after two soldiers were killed by an explosive on Wednesday.