Phalange Leader in Lebanon Calls for Indirect Talks with Israel Over Borders

Lebanese Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel has called for indirect talks with Israel to settle issues related to the countries’ common border. Gemayel made his remarks in a speech delivered at Sao Paolo University in Brazil. In Beirut, meanwhile, Gemayel’s party colleague Sejaan Azzi told the Daily Star newspaper that Resolution 1701 – the document that ended the 2006 war in Lebanon between Israel and Hizbullah – called for proper demarcation of the border. Therefore, he said, involving a third-party such as the United Nations or another nation is acceptable. Azzi made it clear that the talks would be limited to the border issue and should not be construed as “peace negotiations,” which would require the addressing of issues such as the Palestinian “right of return.”