Israeli forces to stay in south Lebanon past withdrawal deadline
PHOTO CAPTION: Israeli soldiers are seen during training exercise, June 29, 2020. (Israeli Defense Forces photo via Flickr)
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon beyond a Monday deadline stipulated in a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah because the terms of the agreement have not been fully implemented, the Israeli prime minister's office said on Friday.
Under the agreement, which came into effect on Nov. 27, Hezbollah weapons and fighters must be removed from areas south of the Litani river and Israeli troops should withdraw as the Lebanese military deploys into the region, all within a 60-day timeframe due to conclude on Monday at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT).
The deal, brokered by the United States and France, ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The fighting peaked with a major Israeli offensive that left Hezbollah severely weakened and displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon.
Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the Israeli military's withdrawal process was "contingent on the Lebanese army deploying in southern Lebanon and fully and effectively enforcing the agreement, while Hezbollah withdraws beyond the Litani".
"Since the ceasefire agreement has not yet been fully enforced by the Lebanese state, the gradual withdrawal process will continue, in full coordination with the United States," the statement said.
There was no immediate comment from Lebanon or Hezbollah.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hezbollah said on Thursday that any delay of Israel's withdrawal would be an unacceptable breach of the agreement, with which the Lebanese state would have to deal "through all means and methods guaranteed by international charters".
Israel said its campaign against Hezbollah aimed to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes in northern Israel by Hezbollah rocket fire.
It inflicted major blows on Hezbollah during the conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah and thousands of the group's fighters and destroying much of its arsenal.
Hezbollah was further weakened in December when its Syrian ally, Bashar al-Assad, was toppled, cutting its overland supply route from Iran.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir in Dubai, James Mackenzie in Jerusalem, and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Writing by Tom Perry, Editing by Ros Russell and Timothy Heritage)
