Netanyahu tells cabinet to start direct talks with Lebanon

[Twiglets1]

Reported in the BBC today that Benjamin Netanyahu says he's told his cabinet to start direct talks with Lebanon "as soon as possible".

In a statement posted on X in Hebrew, it says he requested this to his cabinet yesterday, in light of "repeated calls" from Lebanon to open direct negotiations.

He adds that the talks will focus on the "disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon".

He couldn't disarm Hamas in a place his country occupies, how is he going to disarm Hezbollah in a whole different country.(Well not for long if their aims are met)

Or will he just use that as the excuse to keep murdering hundreds of their civilians a day "to protect Israel" because they didn't disarm .

They won’t be disarmed, however hopefully they will be mostly eliminated.

Reuters note that there was no immediate response from the Lebanese government to Netanyahu's remarks.

An hour before Netanyahu’s statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that “the only solution to the situation in Lebanon is to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, followed by direct negotiations between them.”

He said he was working on a diplomatic track on this matter that was starting to be seen “positively” by international actors.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/netanyahu-israel-wants-start-peace-talks-with-lebanon-as-soon-possible-2026-04-09/

Ideally the conflict in the Lebanon will end as soon as possible. The Lebanese are decent people like the Israelis and the Iranians.

A senior Lebanese official told news agency Reuters that Beirut is pushing for a temporary ceasefire to create space for talks with Israel.

The official said that any negotiations would follow a "separate track, but same model" as the Iran-US truce brokered by Pakistan, while stressing that Lebanon would require the United States to act as a guarantor for any potential agreement with Israel.

He added that no date or location has been finalised yet for the proposed truce talks, indicating that discussions remain at an early stage. The first meeting between Israel and Lebanon will take place at the State Department in Washington, according to Axios.

Agree. I'm pleased to hear that the matter of Lebanon being included in the ceasefire talks is being resolved.

Hope Israel and Lebanon have productive talks re jointly tackling the problem that is Hezbollah.

This will also help the upcoming truce talks between Iran and the US.

I have to say all of the Lebanese and Iranian people I have come across in the UK are all absolutely lovely people. Mostly shopkeepers, beauticians etc. Before this conflict I honestly had no idea there were issues with these countries!

The Isrealis on the other hand, those I have come across have all been like Netenyahu. Something about that compulsory army service really turns them into hostile people to speak to.

Netanyahu added on X that : “Israel appreciates the call made today by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarize Beirut.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told reporters Thursday that he had requested Lebanese military and security forces “immediately reinforce the state’s full control” over Beirut, including by ensuring weapons were in the hands of only “legitimate security forces.”

Salam’s statement appeared to be a response to the Israeli military’s assertions that Hezbollah was operating deeper in Beirut and elsewhere outside the militant group’s strongholds in southern Lebanon, which Israel said justified Wednesday’s strikes.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/04/09/lebanon-beirut-attack-israel-hezbollah-ceasefire/

which Israel said justified Wednesday’s strikes.

300 dead (so far confirmed expected to rise as rubble clears)
1165 injured.
In ten mins of strikes.

Nothing justifies this.
No matter what the perpetrators say.

I don't think it's just the army service. I think the Israelis are indoctrinated from birth. There are, of course, some who completely disagree with the actions of their government. There has been some protesting in Israel. The police have responded violently to this democratic expression of disgust.
This is shocking:

I think the idea is that the Lebanese State and elected government is the one that disarms Hezbollah which is a powerful militia funded by a foreign power (Iran) and effectively operates as "a state within a state" and challenges the sovereignty of Lebanon.

All the Israelis I know are rather charming and certainly not hostile. I wonder what you say to them to bring out hostility?

It isn't a conflict. Israel is bombing and murdering Lebanese civilians. I certaily hope that the Israelis stop doing this.

The Lebanese government don't have the power to demilitarise Hezbollah. Hezbollah have far more military power than the Lebanese government. The government in Lebanon can barely manage to provide a few hours electricity or arrange rubbish collections. The government is highly factional and they only care about benefitting themselves. They have no ability to restrain Hezbollah and the only way to actually achieve peace is to enter peace negotiations with Hezbollah. Israel needs to accept a 2 state solution and defend it's 1967 borders and withdraw its occupation of Palestinian territory.

This is such as shocking watch
I’m particularly shocked by The things those young kids are saying which clearly show evil indoctrination.

Then watching to the end people laughing !!!! In the audience and on a tv chat show at the idea of burning all the Arab villages
a guy on a radio show saying he’d happily press a button to instantly kill everyone in Gaza

on and on it goes
Such evil !

I see the Lebanese PM has called for non-Government arms to be collected. In Beirut, I think. I can't link sorry; it was in a feed and can't find it.

That's a win for Netanyahu. How to do it ? Israel say they know where the arms are, because that's what they target among other things. So surely, they need to stop the bombing and tell Lebanon where to go to collect the arms?

Re the indoctrination, I am on holiday at the moment and there are a number of Israelis here. I am genuinely shocked by some of the things I have heard. It is hard to hold my tongue. They’re on another planet. I hope the conflict resolves soon without Israel attempting to annex part of Lebanon.

You speak Hebrew?

Because the post is made up bullshit.
Who doesn’t know about Iran and the Lebanon after it being in the news for over 45 years?

And where are these meetings of arrogant Israelis taking place?

If the Lebanese government doesn’t have the power to demilitarise Hezbollah, then maybe they should be given support ( for example by the UN peacekeeping force) to help collect the non Government arms.

Or maybe an international body could provide financial incentives for non government arms to be handed over.

I don’t know much about the situation in Lebanon but it seems like the country has been taken over by Hezbollah militants against the will of the Lebanese government or their civilians. The militants have allegiance to Iran not Lebanon so in a sense they are a cancer that needs to be eliminated and maybe Lebanon should have been getting some help from the international community to do so.

Why are you posting such blatant unhinged propaganda?

The US already help. This last year. Does make it odd that the US now appears to have washed their hands of it.

U.S. Security Cooperation With Lebanon - United States Department of State

I remember there was an offer from African nations to help them by sending a military force. But I can't find a link on my web. There has been offers, but TBH I can't remember what happened.

No, they are speaking in English to the hotel staff who obviously can’t disagree with them.

Would be nice if countries other than the US had taken an interest in helping Lebanon to maintain peace (before the Iran war broke out) by assisting the Lebanese government with the problem of Hezbollah.