The Uniited States, Israel, and Lebanon have signed a framework agreement in Washington on Friday following several days of talks aimed at securing an end to fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, US, Israeli, and Lebanese officials said.
Secreatry of State Marco Rubio has announced the framework agreement betwween Israel and Lebanon, according to Reuters. "There is a lot of work ahead," he said.
Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter said "Trilateral framework is performanced based," according to Reuters.
Leiter also said that " Israel will be able to withdraw from Lebanon when [Israel/Lebanon] have completley neuteralized Lebanon from terrorism," reuters said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the anouncement via a video message late Friday night saying, “Citizens of Israel, before the start of Shabbat I want to announce a major achievement for the State of Israel...These have been lengthy talks [between Israel, Lebanon, and the US], and today they have borne fruit."
Netanyahu to Iran 'Lebanon is none of your business'
The Prime Minister affirmed that Israel will "remain the security zone in southern Lebanon."
He elaborated on the situation regarding Iran, stating that they no longer have a role in Lebanon and that this matter is "none of your business."
Netanyahu announced plans for coordination with the Lebanese army to establish control over certain territories. He specified, "We are establishing two pilot zones, both based on the recommendations of the IDF. One zone is located entirely outside the security zone, south of the Litani River, while the other is a small area north of the Litani, partially within the expanded security zone, which the IDF has stated it does not require."
The Prime Minister concluded by reaffirming that the IDF will maintain the original security zone and emphasized Israel’s security priorities, stating, “And the most important thing is that Israel is saying: our security comes first.”
Hezbollah lawmaker responds to the announcement
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said Lebanese authorities would not be able to enforce a framework agreement signed with Israel in Washington on Friday unless, with US support, "they go to civil war," Al Mayadeen reported on Friday, after talks aimed at ending fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group.
Fadlallah said Hezbollah would confront any measure taken by Lebanese authorities and would hold on to its weapons even more, adding that group's opposition was "serious" and would not allow authorities to implement their commitments on the ground.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah broke out when the armed group fired at Israel on March 2, days after the US and Israel attacked Iran. The Hezbollah attacks triggered Israeli air and ground attacks that have killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million.
Israel's death toll from this round of hostilities with Hezbollah includes at least 32 soldiers and four Israeli civilians. Hezbollah does not release figures on its war dead. Reuters reported on May 4 that several thousand Hezbollah fighters had been killed in the war.
The talks in Washington have included discussions on a proposal for Israeli forces to hand some of the territory they occupied in southern Lebanon to Lebanon's military.
A State Department official told Reuters on Thursday that Israel had agreed to pull back from some of that territory, something Israeli and Lebanese officials denied.
Before the talks resumed this week, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to halt fire even as Israel kept troops in occupied southern Lebanon -- territory it describes as a "buffer zone" aimed at thwarting Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel.
Violence has persisted since the ceasefire, with Israel saying on Friday its troops had struck and killed what the military described as seven Hezbollah members who were operating near the territory it is occupying. Reuters could not confirm this.