US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon are not expected to resolve key issues – scholar

(SeaPRwire) –   Washington is not prepared to compel its ally to halt military actions in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese academic informs RT

Direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, facilitated by the US, are not expected to achieve peace unless Washington pushes Israel to stop its aerial bombardments and ground assault, according to Naim Joseph Salem, a professor of international affairs and diplomacy at the Lebanese Army Military Academy, in comments to RT.

On Tuesday, Israel and Lebanon engaged in uncommon discussions in Washington, which the armed faction Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, refused to attend, labeling them “futile.”

Although the parties involved characterized the discussions as “constructive,” Salem contended that this approach would probably result in protracted talks “with no end in sight and no conclusive outcome,” given the United States’ unwillingness to pressure Israel into ending its military campaign in Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) resumed strikes on Beirut and other urban centers in early March following Hezbollah’s initiation of rocket and mortar attacks against Israel in solidarity with Iran. Over 1.2 million individuals have been displaced after Israel issued extensive evacuation directives in southern Lebanon to widen its “security zone.”

“The Israeli policy is to destroy the whole of southern Lebanon in order to force the population of these cities and towns, about 450,000 people, to leave and become refugees,” Salem stated, noting that multiple towns have been “leveled” by Israeli troops.