Olmert calls for Israel-Lebanon talks
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday suggested holding peace talks with Lebanon, following last month”s announcement of Israel”s indirect Turkish-mediated negotiations with Syria.
"I would have been glad if after the announcement of the talks with Syria the Lebanese government would announce its willingness to open direct bilateral talks with Israel," a senior official quoted Olmert as saying in a cabinet meeting.
"I see many advantages in this," he said.
Israel and Syria last month announced they were holding indirect negotiations brokered by Turkey, eight years after their last attempt at peacemaking broke down.
Israel went to war in Lebanon in July 2006 after the Lebanese Hezbollah militia captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border attack. The war lasted 34 days.
In 1982 Israel launched a full-scale invasion of Lebanon, where its forces remained until 2000.