A senior US official stated that agreement has been reached on the structure of the pilot zones for southern Lebanon, according to a report. No details on the timing or implementation were provided.
A senior US official said Wednesday evening at 20:05 Jerusalem that agreement has been reached on the structure of the pilot zones for southern Lebanon, according to a report. The official did not provide specifics on the timeline or implementation mechanism.
The development follows contradictory reports from Israeli officials earlier Wednesday evening (at 18:14 Jerusalem). Kan public broadcaster reported an Israeli official saying the IDF withdrawal from the pilot zones would begin in the coming days, while another Israeli official told The Zioneer that no date has been set for the withdrawal and that the framework for two pilot zones had been reached, including IDF withdrawal, Lebanese army deployment, and independent oversight.
As The Zioneer reported on July 10, the US Ambassador to Beirut stated that Israel and Lebanon had moved to the implementation phase, with the first pilot zone to be determined within days. On June 27, a trilateral framework was signed in Washington. Earlier, on June 25, Al-Hadath reported a principled agreement on the pilot zones.
The current statement appears to confirm that the operational details of the pilot zones have been finalized, but the absence of concrete details leaves open questions about the exact areas, the timeline for Israeli withdrawal, and the unresolved contradiction between the Israeli officials' statements.
2 developments
- StrongAl-Hadath: Israel, Lebanon reach principled agreement on southern Lebanon pilot zones
- DevelopingIsrael and Lebanon discuss US pilot plan for handover of southern Lebanon territory
- StrongUS Ambassador: Israel and Lebanon Move to Implementation Phase of Agreement; Pilot Zone Within Days
- StrongUS official: next phase of Israel-Lebanon talks to focus on implementing all framework articles
Source and signal
- Internal intake