Lebanon refuses direct army coordination with Israel as Tampa talks open

Lebanon will not accept direct coordination between its army and Israeli forces, officials said ahead of military talks opening on Tuesday in Tampa, Florida. "Israelis and Lebanese, with the Americans in the middle," is how one Lebanese political official described the format to The National.

The Lebanese delegation, again led by the army's director of operations, Brig. Gen. George Rizkallah, is due to meet on 20 and 21 October. A security source told Asharq it will again raise continued Israeli strikes and breaches of the framework agreement, which Lebanon says it is honouring while Israel is not.

An official source told Asharq that Beirut will also make a new request: that farmers in the south be allowed to harvest their olives in areas under Israeli control. Prisoners and border demarcation are also on the agenda.

Officials expect little progress before Israel's elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israeli troops will stay as long as Hezbollah is not disarmed. Lebanon wants a third party to verify the "pilot zones" where its army is to take control, so that the state alone holds the weapons.