By Ali Hussein, Lebanese Political Analyst
Israeli Channel 12 reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tapped former minister and longtime aide Ron Dermer to handle the Lebanon file for the duration of the ongoing Mideast war.
Dermer will reportedly be leading the talks with the US government regarding Lebanon, along with negotiations with the Lebanese government itself, if they are launched in the coming weeks, as proposed by Lebanese president Joseph Aoun
The Lebanon’s government is extremely alarmed that the renewed war, triggered by Hezbollah’s decision to launch rockets at Israel, will devastate the country.
For this reason President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have been busy trying to form a Lebanese delegation that will travel to Cyprus which offered to mediate direct peace talks with Israel.
Aoun has been calling on the US for help on the talks but his calls fell on deaf ears, Reuters said .. Neither the US nor Israel appeared to take Aoun seriously on the issue primarily because he has not been able to disarm Hezbollah, the heavily armed Iran – backed militant group , that got lebanon into the messy war with Israel .
The appointment of Dermer who was once called Bibi’s brain marks a positive change in Israeli attitude .
About Ron Dermer
An Israeli politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Strategic Affairs from 2022 until 2025 and as head of the negotiations for hostages’ release in 2025. He served as the Israeli Ambassador to the United States from 2013 to 2021.
Dermer was born and raised in Miami Beach, Florida . His father Jay Dermer, a lawyer was the mayor of Miami Beach, from 1967 to 1971
From 2005 to 2008, Dermer served as the economic attaché at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. This position required that Dermer give up his American citizenship. In 2009 Dermer was named Senior Advisor to Prime Minister Netanyahu. Dermer was considered Netanyahu’s closest adviser and strategic consultant. Allison Hoffman of Tablet magazine called him “Bibi’s Brain”.
