Shafaq News- Beirut
Lebanon and Israel have agreed to nominate Britain, Italy, Switzerland, and Indonesia as potential contributors to a proposed mechanism that could deploy foreign troops to Lebanon to verify Hezbollah’s disarmament, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
The countries could help shape the process, provide personnel to oversee its implementation, or send troops to observe or take part in inspections of Hezbollah’s disarmament. Discussions remain at an early stage, the sources stated.
Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters it was exploring ways to support “various stabilization processes” but provided no details. Britain said it was ready to support efforts to reduce tensions and promote long-term security, particularly in southern Lebanon.
The proposed mechanism forms part of a US-mediated agreement reached by Lebanon and Israel in late June linking Israeli troop “redeployment” to Hezbollah’s disarmament. It was discussed during three days of talks in Rome last week, where the two sides began drafting a new border security agreement, shortlisted potential monitoring parties, and considered seeking a new UN Security Council resolution to provide an international framework after UNIFIL.