US Ambassador to Beirut Michel Issa said Friday that Israel and Lebanon have shifted to the implementation phase of their agreement, with the first pilot withdrawal zone to be determined within days. A US military delegation will arrive in Lebanon in the coming days to coordinate the mechanism and prevent a vacuum as Israeli forces withdraw.
US Ambassador to Beirut Michel Issa announced Friday that Israel and Lebanon have transitioned to the implementation phase of their agreement, with the first pilot withdrawal zone to be determined within days. Issa stated that a US military delegation will arrive in Lebanon in the coming days to coordinate the on-the-ground implementation mechanism, aiming to prevent a vacuum as Israeli forces withdraw.
The announcement follows The Zioneer's report earlier Friday (08:10 Jerusalem) that the US had promised the IDF would withdraw from the first pilot zone, conditioned on measurable progress by the Lebanese Armed Forces in taking control of the territory and disarming Hezbollah. That report was the first SAME-THREAD bulletin in the current burst.
The Zioneer has been tracking the Israel-Lebanon implementation talks since late June, when negotiations extended to a fourth day in Washington and a pilot withdrawal framework emerged. Over the past two weeks, US officials accelerated engagement with both sides, including the arrival of a US Marines commander in Israel to plan the pilot withdrawal, and reports that the Pentagon is preparing to deploy US ground forces to Lebanon as part of the implementation mechanism.
The ambassador's remarks represent the first on-the-record confirmation that the parties have moved from negotiations to practical implementation. The specific location of the first pilot zone has not yet been disclosed.
2 developments
- DevelopingIsrael and Lebanon discuss US pilot plan for handover of southern Lebanon territory
- DevelopingIDF begins pilot withdrawal from southern Lebanon zones
- DevelopingAmericans accelerate talks on Lebanese army pilot zone and Hezbollah disarmament
- DevelopingIsrael and Lebanon sign partial IDF withdrawal deal
Source and signal
- Internal intake