US push for Lebanon and Israel leaders to meet could inflame tensions

Beirut, Lebanon – As the battles rage on in southern Lebanon, pressure is mounting on President Joseph Aoun to meet directly with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an event that could further incite internal tensions in the country. While no date has been set, Lebanon’s Aoun will reportedly visit the White House later in May, a month after Israel and Lebanon’s first direct negotiations in decades, which have divided Lebanese people . Recommended Stories list of 3 items end of list The decision to enter into direct negotiations with Israel especially angered Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed political and military group. Hezbollah does want an end to the war, but prefers indirect negotiations to achieve that goal, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese land. Analysts told Al Jazeera that internal tensions in Lebanon mean there is little likelihood of Aoun meeting Netanyahu in Washington, as such a meeting would not have widespread, cross-communal support in Lebanon. “The push for an Aoun–Netanyahu summit is being driven by the calendar and by Washington’s appetite for a visible deliverable,” Dania Arayssi, a senior analyst at New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, told Al Jazeera. …