The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu made statements following the signing of the agreement in Washington with Lebanon.
In a televised address, he initially commented that “the agreement is a blow to Iran,” while making it clear that the Israeli army will remain in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is “disarmed”.
“Israel remains in the security zone in southern Lebanon. This is a major achievement, and we will maintain it as long as Hezbollah is not disarmed, as long as there is a threat to the State of Israel. Iran is trying to force us to withdraw from southern Lebanon by force. And in fact, Israel, Lebanon, and the United States are telling them—this is none of your business.
You have no role in Lebanon. Neither you, nor Hezbollah, nor any terrorist organization. The additional issue is, of course, that we are allowing the Lebanese army to begin organizing to take over territories. We are creating two pilot zones, both upon the recommendation of the Israel Defense Forces.
The first is completely outside the safety zone—it is south of Litani —and the second is north of the Litani, a small part of it lies within the expanded security zone we have achieved over the past two weeks, which the Israel Defense Forces do not need—they state this in the clearest possible terms.
We are continuously maintaining the original security zone, outside the range of anti-tank weapons. “We do not allow Hezbollah to enter there, nor do we allow the [civilian] population,” he stated emphatically.
