JERUSALEM — Israel offered on Wednesday to start direct peace talks with Lebanon, saying all issues would be negotiable, including a tiny, disputed piece of Israeli-held land on the countries’ border.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Israel over the weekend and made a surprise stop in Lebanon on Monday. She spoke to the Israeli and Lebanese governments about the United States’ desire to find a solution to the land dispute as a catalyst for solving bigger issues in the region, a senior Israeli official said. The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, agreed to this effort. Among the larger issues is strengthening the Lebanese government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

In the past, however, the Lebanese government has consistently opposed negotiations with Israel, saying the Israelis must first return the disputed piece of land.

Last week, after Mr. Olmert raised the issue of peace with Lebanon, the Lebanese government reiterated its opposition and said Israel must in addition return Lebanese prisoners and provide maps showing mines and cluster bombs left over from the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Shiite guerrilla group based in Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which considers the disputed land to be Lebanese, gained decisive new powers within Lebanon’s government in a political agreement reached last month, making it even less likely that pro-Western forces within Lebanon could push for an agreement on the land.

The region is involved in several intense diplomatic efforts.

A six-month truce took effect at 6 a.m. Thursday in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, in an agreement the Israeli government confirmed on Wednesday. A second round of indirect negotiations was completed between Israel and Syria for a comprehensive peace treaty. Israel is also close to a prisoner swap with Hezbollah.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for Mr. Olmert, said the prime minister had spoken of his desire to start talks with Lebanon in an internal Israeli meeting and had decided to make that desire public.

Because Syria has such a strong influence in Lebanon, Mr. Olmert contended that the talks with Syria should lead logically to discussions with Lebanon, Mr. Regev said.

The disputed piece of land that will be under negotiation is known as Shebaa Farms.

When Israel withdrew from the occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000, the United Nations Security Council stated that the withdrawal was complete even though Israel held onto the disputed area because Shebaa, the United Nations said, was part of the Syrian Golan Heights occupied by Israel.

But Lebanon and Hezbollah say the land is Lebanese, and Syria has not contradicted them. Moreover, Hezbollah has used Israel’s hold over Shebaa as a reason for keeping its men under arms despite United Nations resolutions calling for the disarming of all Lebanese militias.

Hezbollah says that as long as part of the Lebanese homeland is occupied, it needs its weapons because the national army is weak.

But the West, especially the United States and France, wants to reduce the power of Hezbollah, a client of both Syria and Iran, and has been looking for ways to strengthen the pro-Western government of Lebanon.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah officials made clear that they viewed Israel’s offer as part of an effort to disarm the group. “If they really want to give us back our land, they can withdraw and implement the Security Council resolutions,” said Nawar Sahili, a Hezbollah member of Lebanon’s Parliament, referring to a United Nations resolution that calls for the Shebaa issue to be resolved.

Next month, the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, is scheduled to brief the Security Council on carrying out Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. In that report, it is likely that he will announce a revised or clarified stand on the sovereignty of Shebaa.

For Israel, the main concern in Lebanon is Hezbollah’s increasing power. Israeli military officials say that Hezbollah has many more rockets and much deadlier ones today than it had two years ago when the two fought a monthlong war after Hezbollah guerrillas crossed the border to capture and kill Israeli soldiers.

It is unclear whether Shebaa and Hezbollah have been discussed by Israeli and Syrian officials in their negotiations, which are being mediated by Turkey.

But the Israelis and Syrians say that their latest round of talks went well and that it is now possible that Mr. Olmert and Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, will find themselves at a table together in France next month. Both men have accepted an invitation to a regional conference there on July 13 on immigration, security and the environment, and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner of France has said they will be seated at the same table.

Resolution 1701 calls on Israel to provide to the United Nations “all remaining maps of land mines in Lebanon in Israel’s possession.” Israel says it has done so, and international officials who monitor the issue confirm this.

They say most of the mines have been cleared using the maps. Cluster bombs are not mentioned in the resolution, but are a source of great concern in southern Lebanon.

There, the international officials say, Israel has been less helpful in providing maps and data, but it may well be because the bombs were distributed less systematically and Israel has less precise information.

Israel worries that if it yields Shebaa, Hezbollah will come up with another reason for keeping its arms. There are other outstanding issues, including the village of Ghajar on the border, half of which Israel occupies.

Ethan Bronner reported from Jerusalem, and Robert F. Worth from Beirut, Lebanon.

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company