Lebanon has signaled that it is prepared to discuss issues beyond the implementation of the ceasefire, including potential economic cooperation. It has agreed to include civilians in the monitoring committee, appointing former Ambassador to Washington Simon Karam as head of the Lebanese delegation, opposite Israel’s representative Dr. Uri Reznik, a senior official at Israel’s National Security Council.

However, according to senior Israeli security officials, these gestures do not indicate an intention to pursue normalization. Instead, they appear to be aimed at improving the political atmosphere in the hope that Israel will postpone the military operation it is planning in Lebanon to weaken Hezbollah’s power.

On December 5, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem sharply criticized the appointment of a diplomat to head Lebanon’s delegation, calling it a “free concession.” He described it as “another slip-up,” following what he termed the “August 5 mistake,” when the Lebanese government decided to dismantle the “resistance’s” weapons.