Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a photograph at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on Jan. 9, 2025. Fadel Itani/AFP via Getty Images
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Dec. 5 that this week’s phase of Lebanon–Israel negotiations in southern Lebanon focused on ending Israeli military action in Lebanese territory, after the Israeli prime minister’s office said it seeks economic cooperation.
In his speech to the visiting U.N. Security Council delegation, Aoun said officials from Lebanon, Israel, and the United States met in Naquora, southern Lebanon, on Dec. 3, and the negotiations were primarily aimed at ending what he called “the hostile actions carried out by Israel on Lebanese territory,” recovering prisoners, scheduling the withdrawal of Israeli forces, and resolving disputed points along the Blue Line. The Blue Line is the U.N.-mapped boundary that serves as the frontier between Lebanon and Israel.
