Reports: Karam wants Israel talks not open to the press, sidelines Moawad
The head of the Lebanese delegation to the talks with Israel, Ambassador Simon Karam, has requested that U.S. State Department officials not open the scheduled negotiations on Thursday and Friday to the press, preferring to keep the deliberations behind closed doors, without statements or press conferences after the meetings, media reports said.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese embassy in Washington is expected to have finalized a dossier that Karam and the Lebanese delegation will take to the negotiations. This dossier includes documentation of Israeli violations on the ground, maps illustrating the occupied areas, and figures and data related to destruction and land confiscation operations, as well as the number of civilian casualties.
According to informed sources, Karam requested that the Lebanese Ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, refrain from interfering in the negotiations and limit her role to listening and observing, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The sources added that Karam is relying on a support team working from Beirut, while displaying clear caution toward Moawad, particularly after reviewing the minutes of the two previous meetings.
Reports had said that a "friendly and warm" handshake took place between Moawad and the Israeli ambassador, before she addressed him, during the discussion about a ceasefire, saying: "Let the summer pass in Lebanon," apparently referring to the country's need for a tourist season.
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