Israel Proposes Peace Talks With Lebanon

A Palestinian man in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip near the Egyptian border, gazes out from a building heavily damaged in the long-running conflict with Israel. (By Eyad Baba -- Associated Press)

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during a visit to Beirut this week, suggested it was time for Israel and Lebanon to try to resolve their differences over the land, which is known as the Shebaa Farms.

Hezbollah has said it sees in Rice's comment a ploy to neutralize one of Hezbollah's main justifications for its attacks. The group issued a statement saying that "anyone who believes that placing Shebaa Farms under U.N. mandate will mean eliminating the rationale behind our resistance is mistaken."

Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, if they happen, would probably be intimately linked to the talks between Israel and Syria, which are being mediated by Turkey.

There is widespread skepticism in Israel that the negotiations will amount to much, although there is a possibility that Olmert will meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at a conference in France next month, a move that would be likely to further weaken U.S. efforts to isolate Syria.

Many Israeli commentators believe Olmert is launching the diplomatic initiatives only to deflect attention from a corruption probe that threatens to bring down his government. But some note that there could be benefits, even if the motives are complex.

"When you negotiate, you get a bit of quiet," Rynhold said. "And at the moment, everyone has an interest in that."

Staff writer Robin Wright in Washington and special correspondent Alia Ibrahim in Beirut contributed to this report.