BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 14. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said the Israeli military is preparing for an extended presence in southern Lebanon, insisting that troops will not withdraw as long as Hezbollah remains armed.
Katz said Israel would “not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon as long as Hezbollah is not disarmed and the threat of Hezbollah in all of Lebanon is not removed”.
He said he had instructed the Israeli military to prepare for a prolonged deployment in the area to protect Israeli forces and communities until those objectives are achieved.
Katz made the remarks during a ceremony marking the establishment of an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
His comments echo Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position on the war in Gaza. Netanyahu has said Israel will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip before Hamas is fully disarmed.
US President Donald Trump announced on July 30 that an agreement had been reached for Hamas to disarm, which would pave the way for an Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of an international stabilisation force. However, Netanyahu has insisted that Hamas must be completely disarmed before any Israeli withdrawal begins.
Netanyahu’s Likud party is seeking to strengthen its security credentials ahead of Israel’s October 27 election.
