US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will be part of the US delegation for upcoming direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, a US State Department official told CNN on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will again participate in the talks, along with US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and State Department counselor Michael Needham.<\/p>\n
Israel and Lebanon will again be represented by their ambassadors to the US, Yechiel Leiter and Nada Hamadeh Moawad, respectively.<\/p>\n
The talks, scheduled to take place on Thursday at the US State Department, represent the second round of discussions at the ambassadorial level in as many weeks. They come amid a fragile 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
According to the State Department official, Huckabee \u201cwill conduct routine consultations with State Department leadership and interagency partners, including discussions on regional issues” during his time in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n
The first round of talks took place last week<\/a>. Following the talks, Leiter praised<\/a> Lebanese leaders, saying, “We have the courage to pursue peace through strength, and to work tirelessly for tranquility and prosperity for all.” <\/p>\n “At the negotiations table, I commended President Joseph Aoun and his government for not allowing itself to be held hostage to the threats of Hezbollah\u2019s leader,” he added.<\/p>\n “Naim Qassem and Hezbollah belong to the past; we are here for the future,” Leiter continued. “Above all, safeguarding the security of Israeli citizens along the northern border remains our supreme objective and top priority.”<\/p>\n Several days after the talks, President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel which went into effect<\/a> this past Friday.<\/p>\n