Ron Arad Back in Focus, and More: Israel Presents New Demand to Lebanon

In the seventh round of Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome, Israel raised a new demand for information on Lebanese Jews who disappeared during the civil war and on navigator Ron Arad. Lebanon seeks the release of 34 detainees. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reported positive progress.

During the seventh round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, held this week in Rome under American mediation, Israel raised a new demand for information on the fate of Lebanese Jews who disappeared during the civil war, as well as on navigator Ron Arad. According to a report in the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, sources claimed that Israel raised demands that Lebanon is unable to fulfill, in order to justify its refusal to advance on the issue of Lebanese prisoners and to embarrass the government in Beirut. It was also reported that the issue had already been raised in the maritime border demarcation talks in 2022, mediated by Amos Hochstein, but did not progress because, according to the Lebanese side, the state did not have data to clarify. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said after the round that "positive progress" had been made on border and prisoner issues, and expressed hope for practical steps soon. Lebanon seeks the release of 34 detainees held in Israel; three were arrested in 1978, 1981, and 2005, and the rest since October 2024. Aoun noted that the talks also dealt with a ceasefire, demolition of buildings, border marking, and defining pilot areas. On the Lebanese side, the continuation of discussion on the prisoner file was defined as a positive development, although gaps over release conditions remain significant.