The United States is stepping up pressure on Lebanon to repeal or amend laws criminalising contact with Israel, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio raising the issue directly with President Joseph Aoun.
Rubio discussed Lebanon's 1955 Boycott of Israel law during a phone call with Aoun on Thursday, according to a statement from the US embassy in Beirut.
He described the legislation as "impractical" and said it was being used in politically motivated prosecutions that obstructed efforts towards peace.
Rubio also urged Lebanon and Israel to establish direct military-to-military communication to reduce the risk of clashes and help implement a US-backed framework agreement between the two countries.
The renewed pressure follows controversy over a legal complaint against Lebanon's ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad.
The complaint was filed after Lebanese and Israeli media reported that Moawad had contacted Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter following an attack in the occupied West Bank in which his son was injured.
Moawad did not publicly confirm or deny the reports.
The complaint was referred to Lebanon's military judiciary, prompting a strong response from Washington.
The State Department said it was "shameful" for a military court to consider a complaint against an ambassador "simply for implementing her legitimate government's policy and participating in US-led negotiations".
Judge Claude Ghanem, the government commissioner at the Military Court, closed the case on Wednesday after finding insufficient evidence that Moawad had violated Lebanon's boycott legislation.
President Aoun also defended the ambassador, saying the alleged contact had not taken place.
"If the aim of those doing this is to target the path we have taken to end the state of war and save Lebanon, then they are committing a crime against the country," he said.
The case has nevertheless brought Lebanon's anti-normalisation legislation back to the centre of political debate.
The 1955 Boycott of Israel law prohibits Lebanese individuals and companies from entering into agreements or transactions with Israeli entities or people based in Israel.
Lebanon's Penal Code also criminalises certain forms of contact with an enemy state, with some offences classified as treason.
Although Lebanon and Israel remain formally in a state of hostility, they began direct US-mediated negotiations in April and signed a framework agreement in Washington on 26 June.
US officials now argue that Lebanon's existing laws are incompatible with that diplomatic process.
Sources told The New Arab that US Ambassador to Beirut Michel Issa has been pressing Lebanese political figures, particularly MPs opposed to Hezbollah, to support changes to the legislation.
Washington reportedly sees repeal or amendment of the laws as part of a broader package of demands on Beirut.
These include accelerating efforts to disarm Hezbollah, reforming the Military Court and implementing financial, monetary and political reforms.
US officials have also expressed frustration at what they see as slow implementation by the Lebanese government.
The pressure comes as Lebanon and Israel prepare for another round of US-sponsored negotiations, expected to take place in Florida later this month.
The legal debate has grown as direct contact between Lebanese and Israeli officials becomes increasingly routine under US mediation.
Some Lebanese legal experts argue that the existing framework has effectively become harder to enforce as official negotiations expand.
Lebanese media outlets have also increasingly interviewed Israeli officials and journalists, while contacts once considered politically or legally taboo have become more common.
Washington's latest intervention is likely to intensify a wider domestic debate over whether Lebanon can continue formal negotiations with Israel while retaining legislation that criminalises many forms of contact with it.