Israel to withdraw from two areas in Lebanon under newly signed agreement

By Oren Liebermann, Sean Lyngaas, and Charbel Mallo, CNN

(CNN) — Israel will withdraw from two areas in southern Lebanon, transferring the sites to the Lebanese military, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under a newly signed agreement after four days of talks in Washington.

The negotiations led to a trilateral deal between Israel, Lebanon and the US that will enable “future agreement” in an effort to reach a broader peace agreement, according to a senior Israeli official.

As the agreement was signed, Lebanon’s Ambassador to the US, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, said the agreement would be the “first step on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Netanyahu said one of the areas from which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will pull back its forces is north of the Litani River, while a second is south of the river. The Israeli-occupied territory in southern Lebanon includes the area south of the Litani River. In a pre-recorded video statement on Friday evening, Netanyahu described the movement of Israeli forces as leaving sites that the IDF “does not need” in Lebanon.

The US State Department was hosting a fifth round of talks between Israel and Lebanon into an attempt by the Trump administration to reach a broader agreement between the two countries that have never had diplomatic relations.

Today is “the beginning of the beginning,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the signing ceremony. “There’s a lot of work ahead. We don’t, in any way, underestimate the difficulty of the task ahead. But we understand the importance of it, how vital it is. And we are honored to play a part in bringing this together.”

The Lebanese Armed Forces will move into these areas as part of a pilot program that was part of the latest ceasefire agreement between the two countries. CNN previously reported that Israel is considering “symbolic” withdrawals from occupied territory in southern Lebanon as part of the talks as a “gesture” to the Lebanese government.

On Thursday, the IDF said it would “temporarily” reduce its forces in Lebanon, but the statement provided to CNN made no mention of pulling back from territory. One day earlier, the Israeli defense minister said the military would not withdraw from Lebanon even if the US demands it.

Netanyahu described the agreement as a major win for Israel, allowing Israel to remain in much of the territory it occupies in southern Lebanon and holding it as long as Hezbollah is not disarmed.

“This is also a major blow to Iran,” Netanyahu said. “Iran is trying to force us into a withdrawal from southern Lebanon by force. In effect, Israel, Lebanon, and the United States are telling them: this is none of your business.”

“The people of Lebanon and Israel deserve to live in peace and security, but have long suffered from conflict,” Rubio added.

In a statement issued after the signing, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun thanked the Trump administration for hosting the negotiations. He said the agreement would allow the people of Lebanon to “return to their fully liberated land … under sovereignty of a Lebanese state that has no partner in its sovereignty over its land and its people,” an apparent reference to Iran’s influence in the country through Hezbollah.

Hassan Fadallah, a Hezbollah member of Lebanon’s parliament, said the Iran-backed group rejected direct negotiations with Israel and called on the government to “retract these negotiations and all the decisions they have made against their people.”

Speaking to the pro-Hezbollah Al-Mayadeen news channel, Fadallah said, “Whoever shakes hands with the enemy is a criminal like them.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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