A senior Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday that the IDF will not be withdrawing from Lebanon or making concessions, contrary to Lebanese reports stating the opposite.
“There are no concessions and no withdrawals. The IDF is deployed along the Blue Line in positions deemed optimal for the protection of our forces. This is the directive issued by the military leadership, with the backing of the political echelon,” the official told the Post.
This comes in response to an earlier report from Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI), which claimed that the US had notified Lebanon that Israel was planning to withdraw some troops as a “goodwill gesture” ahead of Israel-Lebanon negotiations that are set to take place in Washington on Tuesday.
Netanyahu vows to remain in Lebanon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that the IDF would not retreat from its position in southern Lebanon and vowed to “restore security to the north,” which will require “maintaining the security strip in southern Lebanon.”
“We [will] not withdraw as long as Israel's security needs require it,” he added.
The IDF has not presented a timetable for withdrawal or clear conditions for ending its presence in the territory.
US-Iran talks preventing further IDF action
Ongoing US-Iran ceasefire efforts have prevented the military from entering a Hezbollah underground compound in Tebnit, a southern Lebanese village with high IDF presence.
Security officials are therefore considering allowing Lebanon’s army to take control of the tunnel network, a test that Israel believes would reveal Lebanon's ability and willingness to act against Hezbollah, according to an N12 report.