The United States appeared unmoved on Tuesday by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s rejection of its efforts to facilitate a meeting between him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Washington doubling down on its call for such high-level engagement between the two leaders as it seeks to advance a joint effort aimed at disarming Hezbollah.

“President Trump has been clear that direct engagement between the two countries is the best way to swiftly advance a lasting peace and security agreement,” a State Department official said in a statement sent to querying reporters.

“Diplomacy is ongoing, and we will not comment on our ongoing discussions with the two countries,” the official continued, apparently referencing reports that the US was working to schedule a third round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington next week.

“Hezbollah is still trying to derail negotiations with attacks on Israel and threats inside of Lebanon,” the State Department official said. “We are working to create the conditions and political momentum needed to move this forward.”

The US has been pushing for a meeting between Netanyahu and Aoun for weeks, with President Donald Trump first claiming on April 15 the two leaders would speak on the phone the next day — a call that never ended up happening. When he announced a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah the next day, Trump claimed that the two leaders would meet at the White House in the next week or two.

While Aoun’s government is the first in decades to express a desire to curb Hezbollah’s influence in the country, the Iran-backed terror group still wields significant influence in Lebanon, and a relatively weak Beirut is trying to act without sparking another civil war with the roughly one-third of the country’s population that is Shiite.

Accordingly, Aoun quietly pushed back on US calls for him to meet Netanyahu in person, particularly while Israeli forces continue to occupy a six-mile buffer zone in southern Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces has been razing homes in almost every Lebanese village along the northern border, saying they have been used to either store Hezbollah weapons or that they can be used to target Israel. The demolitions have created scenes reminiscent of the destruction in Gaza, sparking growing international outcry.

Israel says the buffer zone is necessary to protect norther communities from Hezbollah attacks, while critics of the policy argue it legitimizes the terror group, which claims to be acting to........

© The Times of Israel