The announcement comes as the prime minister also declared his intention to form a broader coalition government ahead of national elections.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday hailed a newly signed US-brokered agreement with Lebanon as a historic achievement, saying it had dealt a significant blow to Iran and Hezbollah while making clear that Israeli forces would not be leaving southern Lebanon any time soon.
Speaking in a televised briefing, Netanyahu said the deal was the result of direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon and represented a turning point in the country’s long struggle against Iranian-backed militant groups.
“Yesterday we achieved a historic deal for the state of Israel,” he said. “This is a blow to Iran and Hezbollah. We are breaking the Iranian terror axis, but we are also breaking the Iranian diplomatic axis.”
Israel is insisting the trilateral agreement signed with Lebanon, and negotiated alongside the US, allows Israeli forces to remain in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed. The Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah, which was not part of the negotiations, today said it would not abide by those conditions.
“This is the basic condition to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have pledged and which we are being implemented,” he added.
“The important principle established in the agreement is that there will be no redeployment by Israel in southern Lebanon, no withdrawal, as long as the terrorist organization Hezbollah is not disarmed throughout Lebanon, and the safety of the residents of the north is guaranteed,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a video statement Saturday evening..
However, Netanyahu thanked President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for helping broker the deal but was firm that Israeli troops would remain in a security zone roughly ten kilometres inside Lebanese territory until the threat from Hezbollah was fully removed.
“We will remain in the area until Hezbollah and the rest of the terror groups are disarmed,” he said. “We will continue to hold this security zone until Hezbollah and all other terrorist organisations are fully disarmed and no longer pose any threat to Israel from Lebanese territory.”
The announcement comes as the prime minister also declared his intention to form a broader coalition government ahead of national elections due no later than October, distancing himself from both the far right and the left amid poor polling numbers at home.
