US envoy holds talks with Netanyahu on Syria, Lebanon

Top US envoy Thomas Barrack visited 'Israel' on Sunday for high-level talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Syria and Lebanon topping the agenda, according to three 'Israeli' officials.

Barrack’s trip, first reported by Axios, came after earlier discussions with 'Israel’s' Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Defence Minister Israel Katz.

The diplomatic push coincides with behind-the-scenes talks between 'Israel' and Syria. Two Syrian sources confirmed that Dermer met Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in Paris last Tuesday to discuss security arrangements in southern Syria. The meeting followed a previous US-brokered round of negotiations in Paris in late July, which ended without an agreement.

Barrack has also been pressing forward with efforts in Lebanon. Speaking in Beirut on Monday, he urged 'Israel' to accept a proposal that would see Hezbollah disarm by the end of the year in exchange for a halt to 'Israeli' military operations.

The plan lays out a phased process in which groups would gradually surrender their weapons, while 'Israel' would scale back ground, air, and naval operations and eventually withdraw forces from southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s cabinet approved the plan’s main objectives earlier this month, despite Hezbollah’s outright rejection of disarmament. Barrack, however, stressed that the responsibility now lies with 'Israel' to engage.

“It is now Israel’s turn to cooperate,” he said.