Israel considers Switzerland to supervise Lebanon agreement, i24NEWS told
Senior Swiss officials have held a series of meetings in Jerusalem and Washington since February as Bern emerges as a leading candidate to help supervise the Lebanon agreement
Israel is considering an unlikely candidate to provide a foreign force to supervise implementation of the agreement in Lebanon: Switzerland, sources familiar with the talks told i24NEWS on Saturday.
On Thursday, the last round of negotiations between Israel and the Lebanese government in Rome was completed. After the talks, Israel said that there would be no expansion of the pilot zones before examining how the existing zones work.
The Israeli side said at the end of the round of talks that several options were considered, and that a country that acts against Israel in the international courts in The Hague would not be approved for agreement supervision.
One of the main candidates being considered for the mission to send forces to supervise the implementation of the agreement in Lebanon is Switzerland.
According to sources familiar with the matter, senior Swiss officials have held a series of meetings with their counterparts in Jerusalem and Washington in recent months, since February.
In this context, we note that the Swiss ambassador to Israel, Simon Geissbühler, has very good relations with the political echelon in Israel. Switzerland also has excellent relations with the Lebanese government - which makes this country a candidate that is acceptable to both sides.
According to sources involved in the talks, Switzerland has a proven track record as an independent country in such missions, and it is estimated that Israel can live with this idea.