BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended on Thursday negotiations with Israel, saying they were not a betrayal and he would not surrender “a single inch of Lebanon’s territory,” according to the presidency.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the Israeli army would remain “until further notice” in what it describes as “security zones” in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.
Lebanon signed last week a US-backed framework agreement with Israel with the aim of securing peace between the two countries — a move that has been met with major protest from Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Negotiations with Israel are not “treason but a diplomatic war without unnecessary bloodshed,” Aoun said on Thursday.
The latest war erupted on March 2 when Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader.
