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Top US envoy pushes Israel to 'restrain' strikes on Lebanon
Thomas Barrack holds talks with Netanyahu amid ongoing US-mediated efforts to reduce tensions in southern Syria and Hezbollah disarmament in Lebanon.
Top US envoy pushes Israel to 'restrain' strikes on Lebanon
Barrack previously met with Israel’s Strategic Affairs and Defence ministers. / Photo: Reuters
5 hours ago

Top US envoy Thomas Barrack arrived in Israel on Sunday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Syria and Lebanon, three Israeli officials said.

The meeting was first reported by Axios, citing three Israeli and US sources, and followed discussions between Barrack and Israel's Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Defence Minister Israel Katz.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Barrack, who also serves as the US Ambassador to Türkiye, met with the Israeli premier to discuss "a US request that Israel restrain its strikes in Lebanon" and engage in "negotiations with Syria."

Dermer held talks with Syria's foreign minister Asaad al Shaibani in Paris on Tuesday on security arrangements in southern Syria, two Syrian sources familiar with the meeting said.

Syrian and Israeli officials have been conducting US-mediated talks on de-escalating conflict in southern Syria.

A previous round of talks was held in Paris in late July but ended without a final accord.

On Monday, Barrack said in Lebanon that Israel should comply with a plan under which Lebanese group Hezbollah would be disarmed by the end of the year in exchange for a halt to Israel's military operations in Lebanon.

The plan sets out a phased roadmap for armed groups to hand in their arsenals as Israel's military halts ground, air and sea operations and withdraws troops from Lebanon's south.

Lebanon's cabinet approved the plan's objectives earlier this month despite Hezbollah's refusal to disarm, and Barrack said it was now Israel's turn to cooperate.

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu's office.

SOURCE:Reuters
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