Israel will withdraw from two areas in southern Lebanon, transferring the sites to the Lebanese military, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under a newly signed agreement after four days of talks in Washington.
The negotiations led to a trilateral deal between Israel, Lebanon and the US that will enable “future agreement” in an effort to reach a broader peace agreement, according to a senior Israeli official.
As the agreement was signed, Lebanon’s Ambassador to the US, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, said the agreement would be the “first step on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Netanyahu said one of the areas from which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will pull back its forces is north of the Litani River, while a second is south of the river. The Israeli-occupied territory in southern Lebanon includes the area south of the Litani River. In a pre-recorded video statement on Friday evening, Netanyahu described the movement of Israeli forces as leaving sites that the IDF “does not need” in Lebanon.
Today is “the beginning of the beginning,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the signing ceremony. “There’s a lot of work ahead. We don’t, in any way, underestimate the difficulty of the task ahead. But we understand the importance of it, how vital it is. And we are honored to play a part in bringing this together.”
