TEL AVIV — Diplomacy reached bold new heights Tuesday as Israeli and Lebanese officials prepared to symbolically occupy the same 10,000-square-foot conference hall, with insiders confirming there is a “real possibility” of the two delegations both making eye contact and possibly exchanging nods.

The historic not-quite-meeting comes as U.S. and Iranian representatives reportedly “passed within three feet” of each other in a Vienna corridor before quickly resuming their respective peace talks via Post-it notes left on bathroom doors. “We’re hoping to break new ground by standing within the legal definition of ‘adjacent,’” said Isaac Ben-Gurion, Israel’s Deputy Vice Minister for Strategic Distance. “Last year we made history by refusing to acknowledge the same sandwich tray. This time, we’ve agreed to co-occupy the same oxygen molecules.”

Meanwhile, domestic tranquility advanced after Federal Judge Lorraine Hawkings declined to block former President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring all mail-in ballots to be sent via carrier pigeon and then personally licked by Betsy Ross’s great-grandnephew. “This ruling preserves electoral integrity, or at least some semblance of aerobic fitness among our senior citizens,” claimed self-appointed voting expert Chet Biggins. “There’s nothing more American than trusting our democracy to the migratory habits of birds.”

Diplomats from Israel and Lebanon confirmed further progress was possible if each side refrained from mentioning ‘the incident with the hummus’ during break time. “We are hopeful,” observed U.N. special envoy Anders Borgmann. “After all, no one flipped over the snack table—yet.”