ZAWTAR AL-GHARBIYAH, Lebanon: Beirut is working toward a “complete Israeli withdrawal” from areas it occupies, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Wednesday on a visit to a village where Lebanon’s army recently deployed. “We will continue mobilizing our political and diplomatic efforts to secure a complete Israeli withdrawal from the south,” he said in Zawtar Al-Gharbiya, one of several “pilot zones” intended to demonstrate that the Lebanese army can remove and disarm Hezbollah as part of a Washington-sponsored deal with Israel.

Under US-brokered plan, Israel is to hand over control of some areas it occupies in the south to Lebanese government.

Lebanese army troops began deploying in the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh on Tuesday after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, a senior