{"id":50436,"date":"2026-04-14T11:59:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T11:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=50436"},"modified":"2026-04-14T11:59:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T11:59:36","slug":"historic-israel-lebanon-peace-talks-to-take-place-in-washington-d-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=50436","title":{"rendered":"Historic Israel-Lebanon peace talks to take place in Washington D.C."},"content":{"rendered":"


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NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

France\u2019s President Emmanuel Macron<\/a> is facing renewed criticism for his lack of support for President Donald Trump\u2019s war against Iran and demands to include Lebanon in the current ceasefire as historic talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to begin Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The historic meeting brokered by President Trump between Lebanon, a former French mandate, and Israel will take place at the ambassador level as hopes for an agreement evolve \u00ad\u2014 most noticeably without French involvement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to host both nations’ ambassadors.<\/p>\n

The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel\u2019s government requested that France be excluded from the talks. An Israeli official told the paper that “France\u2019s conduct over the past year\u00a0\u2013 including initiatives aimed at limiting Israel\u2019s ability to fight in Iran, and a complete lack of willingness to take concrete steps to help Lebanon disarm Hezbollah \u2013 has led Israel to view France as an unfair mediator.”<\/p>\n

IRAN’S TERROR PROXIES FROM IRAQ-TO-LEBANON SAY READY TO RESPOND TO US-ISRAEL ATTACKS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a meeting with President Trump and other world leaders.<\/span> (Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On Monday, <\/strong>Hezbollah chief Naim \u200bQassem on Monday \u200ccalled on the Lebanese government<\/a> to \u200bcancel the \u200bTuesday meeting in Washington, while \u2060describing the talks as pointless. In \u200ba televised \u200bspeech, Qassem said the \u200carmed \u2060group will continue to confront Israeli attacks on \u200bLebanon.<\/p>\n

Hezbollah violated a ceasefire to enter the war on its patron, Iran\u2019s side, in March when it launched rockets into Israel<\/a> after the U.S.-Israel joint attack on the Islamic Republic began, still Macron has demanded Israel stop attacking Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Israeli Brig. General (Res.) Yosef Kuperwasser told Fox News Digital that Macron was “working against the best interests of the Lebanese state and government. This is a very problematic direction.” He accused Macron of “taking the side of Hezbollah and normalizing Hezbollah because he is focused on “narrow interests.”<\/p>\n

IRAN THREATENS TO END CEASEFIRE OVER HEZBOLLAH’S EXCLUSION FROM TRUCE DEAL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Hezbollah al-Mahdi scouts parade with big portraits of Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Khomeini, foreground, and Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, background, during an event for Jerusalem day or Al-Quds day, in the southern town of Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. The last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan is observed in many Muslim countries as Al-Quds day, as a way of expressing support to the Palestinians and emphasizing the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims.<\/span> (Hussein Malla\/AP Photo)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The former head of research for the Israel Defense Forces\u2019 Military Intelligence Directorate, Kuperwasser, added that\u00a0the “Americans want us to engage with the Lebanese along with the military [in Lebanon]. Our expectations are very similar. We want to see Lebanon do something about Hezbollah, something real, not just issue statements and pledges. We believe we have helped them by weakening Hezbollah militarily since they decided to launch missiles on March 2. If there is a breakthrough, Lebanon has a lot to gain,” but said it has to <\/strong>“disarm Hezbollah.”<\/p>\n

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.<\/p>\n

Macron has faced accusations over the years that he has normalized Hezbollah. His government, in contrast to Germany, the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Austria and many other Western and non-Westen countries, refuses to designate Hezbollah\u2019s entire organization a terrorist entity. France has classified Hezbollah\u2019s “military wing” a terrorist organization but declined to ban its “political wing.” Hezbollah considers itself a unified movement without branches.<\/p>\n

The French politician Fran\u00e7ois-Xavier Bellamy, who is a member of the European Parliament <\/strong>for the Republicans Party,<\/strong> said last week on French television that “France must stop normalizing Hezbollah<\/a>.” Macron sparked outrage in 2020 when he reportedly held a private conversation with a top elected Hezbollah official, according to the Paris-based daily\u00a0Le Figaro.<\/p>\n

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Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026.<\/span> (Emilio Morenatti\/AP)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Edy Cohen, an Israeli security expert on Hezbollah, who was born in Lebanon, told Fox News Digital, “France is forced not to come out against Hezbollah in order to legitimize its involvement in Lebanon.”<\/p>\n

A French diplomat told the Times of Israel\u00a0that “what we are hoping for is not a ticket to the meeting, but that Israel stops its offensive on Lebanon.”<\/p>\n

When asked if France would pressure Lebanon to recognize Israel as a state, Pascal Confavreux, a spokesman for France\u2019s Foreign Ministry, told “Fox News Sunday<\/a>” that, “Iran has to stop terrorizing Israel through Hezbollah because Hezbollah chose to bring Lebanon into a war which is not Lebanon\u2019s war\u2026 Lebanon has to be included in the ceasefire, something that we are pushing diplomatically,” He continued that we are in favor of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.<\/p>\n

It is not known if France asked for a seat at the talks. Fox News Digital sent multiple press queries to France\u2019s embassies in Washington D.C. and Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

IDF UNCOVERS HEZBOLLAH WEAPONS STASH INSIDE HOSPITAL IN LEBANON<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Hezbollah launches long-range missiles from Lebanon into northern Israel within 48 hours of strikes on Iran, escalating the widening conflict amid Operation Epic Fury.<\/span> (Hadi Mizban\/AP)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On Saturday, Macron again pushed his desire for a ceasefire and wrote on X that he had discussions with Iran\u2019s President Massoud Pezeshkian<\/a>: “I stressed the importance of full respect for the ceasefire, including in Lebanon. France extends its full support to the actions of the Lebanese authorities, who alone are legitimate to exercise the sovereignty of the State and decide the destiny of Lebanon.”<\/p>\n

Walid Phares, an expert on Lebanon and the region, told Fox News Digital that while the talks are important, problems exist. “It is at ambassadors\u2019 level, which means it is not destined to reach a top level of decision-making.”<\/p>\n

He added, “Strangely, the Lebanese president and prime minister declined to invite the Lebanese foreign minister to the Washington talks, provoking a representation by Israel, also at ambassadorial level, showing that Hezbollah still has a strong influence on the Lebanese government. The militia is being rejected by the population on the ground and fears a meeting in D.C. would ostracize Hezbollah further.”<\/p>\n

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Iran rebuilds Hezbollah ties as Trump gives 10-15 day deadline.<\/span> (Fadel Itani\/NurPhoto)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sethrida Geagea, a member of parliament from the Lebanese Forces party, posted on X ahead of the Israel-Lebanon talks an open letter to Nabih Berri, the powerful speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and leader of the Shiite Amal Movement. She issued indirect criticism of Hezbollah and its terrorist army within the state. Geagea appealed to Berri to unify the Lebanese to be “protected by a single army.”<\/p>\n

Without naming Hezbollah, her letter stated that young\u00a0Shiites have been plunged into war that has nothing to do with them and the conflict is really about an Iranian decision to retaliate\u00a0for the joint U.S.-Israel war that assassinated the Islamic Republic\u2019s\u00a0Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei<\/a>, on February 28.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The State Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital press query.<\/p>\n

Reuters contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Benjamin Weinthal\u00a0reports on Israel<\/a>, Iran<\/a>, Syria<\/a>, Turkey<\/a> and Europe.<\/a> You can follow\u00a0Benjamin\u00a0on Twitter @BenWeinthal, and email him at benjamin.weinthal@fox.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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