Defense Minister Israel Katz stated Wednesday that Israel will not withdraw from the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, and northern Samaria, and that the IDF will continue defending the borders from the Hermon outpost through the Lebanon mountains and the Gaza area. Katz said the IDF will also not withdraw from the evacuated terror camps in northern Samaria, and that operations there may be expanded to additional camps. His remarks came amid reports of ongoing US-Iran negotiations.
Defense Minister Israel Katz clarified Israel's security posture Wednesday at 17:43 Jerusalem time, specifying for the first time that the IDF will not withdraw from the evacuated terror camps in northern Samaria nor from the Hermon outpost. The remarks build on three earlier statements published at 17:24 Jerusalem, in which Katz first signaled no withdrawal from Lebanon (version 1), then expanded the policy to Syria, Gaza, and Samaria (version 2), and then instructed the IDF to prepare for independent action against Iran's nuclear program (version 3). By 17:43, Katz had added explicit geographic detail linking the Hermon outpost and northern Samaria camps to the broader no-withdrawal posture.
The thread shows escalating specificity: the initial 17:24 version cited an unnamed source (Amichai Stein, i24NEWS); by the third version Katz was on the record naming Syria, Gaza, and the nuclear instruction. The 17:43 dispatch cites Katz directly, with his own listing of the Hermon outpost, Lebanon mountains, Samaria, and most of Gaza. Katz framed the policy as rooted in the lessons of October 7, emphasizing that Israel would not repeat the mistake of withdrawing from buffer zones.
As The Zioneer reported at 17:32 and 17:31, Katz stressed that Israel expects the US to uphold the principle of preventing a nuclear Iran and that the IDF has been instructed to prepare for independent action if necessary. A separate senior Israeli official stated earlier Wednesday that the Lebanon line will be preserved and that Iran had failed to link the fronts.
The policy places Israel in direct tension with Iranian demands: a member of Iran's negotiating team said on June 11 that Iran will not accept Israeli forces remaining in southern Lebanon (Background, 12:27 Jerusalem). Katz's remarks today suggest Israel views that position as non-negotiable.
5 developments
- StrongIsraeli official to i24NEWS: Israel not required to withdraw under understandings with Iran
- DevelopingIsrael's Katz: Campaign against Iran far from over; IDF ready to strike Iran with great force
- StrongKatz: IDF will stay in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza security zones indefinitely, rejects withdrawal pressure
- StrongKatz: Netanyahu told Trump Israel won't withdraw from Lebanon, Syria, Gaza security zones
Source and signal
- Internal intake