In a recording released Friday evening, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that Israel will remain in the security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed. He said a pilot will be conducted in two areas where the IDF will withdraw and the Lebanese army will enter, selected on the IDF's recommendation.
Prime Minister Netanyahu released a recorded statement before the start of Shabbat on Friday evening at approximately 21:00 Jerusalem, detailing the operational framework for the new trilateral deal with Lebanon and the U.S. regarding the security zone in southern Lebanon. In the recording, Netanyahu reiterated that Israel will remain in the zone until Hezbollah is disarmed, and confirmed that a pilot will be conducted in two areas from which the IDF will withdraw, with the Lebanese army entering instead — areas selected based on IDF recommendations. This mirrors and expands on his initial announcement at 21:00 Jerusalem (as first reported by The Zioneer at 20:57 Jerusalem), which stated Israel would maintain its presence under the framework deal establishing two pilot areas for Lebanese army deployment while IDF forces remain.
The thread has evolved rapidly Friday evening, from a reported outline of the deal at 20:57 Jerusalem — citing IDF freedom of action and prevention of unilateral withdrawal — to a senior political official's confirmation at 20:58 Jerusalem that the security zone will be held until Hezbollah is disarmed, to Netanyahu's own recorded statement at 21:00 Jerusalem adding the pilot-area detail. The Zioneer's earlier reporting (Thu Jun 18, 17:25 Jerusalem) had already documented Netanyahu rejecting withdrawal pressure as the IDF struck 300 Hezbollah targets in two days; subsequent bulletins (Tue Jun 23, 00:33 Jerusalem and Tue Jun 23, 14:02 Jerusalem) reaffirmed the IDF's intent to hold the zone.
As The Zioneer reported on Sunday June 21, 23:52 Jerusalem, Netanyahu extended the principle of indefinite presence to all three fronts — Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon. Background reporting from June 21 also noted what Netanyahu called 'tremendous gains' against Iranian threats.
The specific pilot areas have not been named or mapped, and it remains unverified whether the Lebanese army will actually deploy into them given internal political obstacles in Lebanon. The mechanism for measuring Hezbollah's disarmament — the condition for eventual wider IDF withdrawal — also remains undefined.
4 developments
- DevelopingNetanyahu: Israeli forces are not leaving Lebanon
- StrongNetanyahu, defense chiefs reaffirm IDF will maintain security zone in southern Lebanon
- StrongNetanyahu: IDF controls nearly 70% of Gaza Strip; vows no withdrawal from Lebanon buffer zone
- StrongNetanyahu: IDF stays in security zone in Lebanon until Hezbollah disarms; two pilot areas for Lebanese army handover
Source and signal
- Internal intake