TEHRAN – Israel’s decision to extend its occupation of Lebanon has highlighted its expansionist ambitions, especially given what appears to be tacit approval from the United States.
Israel’s prime minister said on Friday that regime forces would not withdraw from southern Lebanon by the 60-day deadline set under a ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah resistance movement.
“The withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces is conditional on the deployment of the Lebanese Army in southern Lebanon. As Lebanon has not yet fully implemented the ceasefire agreement, a phased withdrawal process will be carried out in full coordination with the United States. “We will continue to do so,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
This statement amounts to a blatant violation of the ceasefire that came into effect on November 27, 2024.
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog said Thursday that the deadline is “not set in stone.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not meet Sunday deadline to withdraw from southern Lebanon as the schedule may be flexible due to instructions from the US
Israel is to withdraw its troops from south Lebanon by a Sunday deadline. They should be replaced by UNIFIL forces and then by Lebanese forces.
Hezbollah should also relocate its military infrastructure north of the Litani River.
Israel and Hezbollah began a cross-border gunfight on October 8, 2023. It was the day after Israel launched a war against Gaza. The Lebanese resistance movement has attacked Israeli strategic and military sites with drones and missiles in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian enclaves.
On September 23, 2024, Israel launched a major bombing campaign in Lebanon and a week later sent troops into southern Lebanon. Israeli forces have killed around 4,000 people in Lebanon since October 2023.
Israel has consistently violated the November ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States and France by conducting military operations in Lebanon.
Hezbollah warned on Thursday that failure to withdraw Israeli forces from Lebanon would be “considered a brazen violation of the agreement.” The resistance movement said that missing the deadline would be a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Meanwhile, the administration of US President Donald Trump appears to support a prolonged Israeli occupation.
According to CNN, a Pentagon official hinted that the timeline for Israeli military withdrawal from Lebanon could be flexible.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right allies are already calling for the reoccupation of southern Lebanon.
“There is no way to restore security to the northern population without a war to destroy Hezbollah and reoccupy southern Lebanon,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in July.
In October, it also advocated the creation of a “Jewish state” encompassing all Palestinian territories and adjacent Arab territories.
Smotrich said this “Jewish state” must extend to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
For now, Israel has justified the continued presence of its troops in Lebanon, but the United States is likely to create a narrative that justifies the Lebanese regime’s occupation.