Lebanon and Israel end sixth round of US-brokered talks 

Lebanese and Israeli officials have ended another round of US-mediated talks, focusing on a plan to establish “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon from which Israeli forces would begin withdrawing.

The two-day diplomatic talks in Rome ended on Wednesday, with a US official calling the meetings “productive and positive”.

“We agreed on the structure and guidelines for the pilot zone process, to be finalised ⁠and implemented in the coming days,” the US official said in comments sent to news agencies.

Under a US-brokered June 26 framework deal, Israeli forces are to withdraw from the large swaths of southern Lebanon they are occupying, in exchange for disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

The deal was supposed to begin with two pilot zones where the Israeli military is to turn over control to the Lebanese army, which would clear the areas of any Hezbollah presence.

Wednesday’s statement did not specify where the pilot zones would be. German news agency dpa cited government sources as saying the zones being discussed included the towns of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, al-Ghandouriyah, Burj Qalawiyah, Sarifa and Frun.

Neither Israel nor Lebanon have commented on the status of the latest talks. But a US ⁠official said talks would move to a technical phase to implement the framework deal and reach a “comprehensive agreement” between the two states.

Sami Halabi, director of policy at the think tank Badil: The Alternative Policy Institute, said the pilot zone initiative will test Israel’s willingness to withdraw from Lebanon, the US’s leverage over Israel as well as the Lebanese army’s ability to reestablish its presence.

“We’re at the point where Lebanon is moving from performing its sovereignty to piloting its sovereignty through these pilot zones,” Halabi told Al Jazeera.

The latest Israel-Lebanon talks mark the sixth round of face-to-face negotiations since the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted on March 2.

The direct talks have continued despite deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon and strong objections ‌from ‌Hezbollah, which rejects disarming and says only pressure from its ally Iran can secure an end to the war and Israel’s withdrawal.

More than 4,000 Lebanese have been killed and more than a million displaced by Israel’s war on Lebanon since March, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.

At least 32 Israeli soldiers and four Israeli civilians have been killed by Hezbollah, most of them in southern Lebanon, since Israel began its attacks.

Halabi said the latest negotiations and the June 26 agreement have led to a reduction in violence, but that progress remains shaky and could “fall apart at any time”.

“The best-case scenario is that it starts a structured and credible process” in which Israeli forces withdraw from southern Lebanon and Lebanon’s army takes over, he said. “We are at a very pivotal moment that is very sensitive, and any misstep could lead us to an all-out conflict.”