Israel must end occupation of south Lebanon: President Aoun tells US envoy
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun urges the United States to press Israel to end its occupation of the country and completely withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon.
Aoun told US national security adviser Mike Waltz on Wednesday that it is necessary to end the Israeli occupation in Lebanon’s territory as agreed under a ceasefire deal involving Hezbollah.
Decision-makers are "unified in adopting the diplomatic option, because nobody wants war," Aoun’s office said in a statement.
President Aoun, it said, reiterated that Beirut would consider any remaining Israeli presence on Lebanese land an occupation.
The ceasefire agreement, brokered by the United States and France, stipulated that Israeli forces must leave Lebanon before January 26. But it was later agreed to be extended to February 18 after Israel refused to comply.
Lebanon’s army, which under the truce deal should deploy across the south of the country as Israeli forces vacate, said on Tuesday morning that the regime’s forces were still present in about a dozen villages and border areas, as the deadline for withdrawal expired.
Israel has said that it would keep its forces in "five strategic points" on the hilltops, overlooking swathes of both sides of the border to "make sure there's no immediate threat".
Beirut has said it would ask the UN Security Council to push Israel to leave, saying Lebanon had "the right to adopt all means" to make the Israeli regime completely withdraw its forces.
The United Nations says Israel's incomplete pull-out is a violation of Security Council Resolution 1701.
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