Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has warned that if the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah does not withdraw north of the Litani Riverlocated about 30 kilometers from the border with Israel, the November ceasefire agreement in Lebanon will not hold.
“The first condition for the implementation of the agreement is the complete withdrawal of the Hezbollah terrorist organization beyond the Litani River (…), if this condition is not met there will be no agreement,” the minister said in a statement.
During a visit to an exhibition of weapons seized by the Army in southern Lebanon, at the Northern Command headquarters in Safed, Katz assured that your country is interested in maintaining the ceasefire.
“Israel is interested in the implementation of the agreement in Lebanon and will continue to implement it fully and without compromise,” he said.
In this sense, Katz emphasized that this will be possible only if the aforementioned condition is met, as well as dismantling weapons and group structures by the Lebanese Army, something that “has not happened yet.”
Otherwise, he indicated that his country “will be forced to act on its own to ensure the safe return of northern residents (of Israel) to their homes.”
The truce, agreed on November 27 by the parties, established that the Israeli Army must withdraw from southern Lebanon in 60 days – of which 39 have passed – and hand over control of the area to the Lebanese military and to the UN peacekeepers.
At the moment, Israel has only announced the withdrawal of one of its divisions in two cities, and according to local reports and bans on civilians issued by the Israeli Armymaintains a presence in about 60 locations.
