A U.S. official overseeing the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah indicated on Friday that Israel would by next week withdraw from occupied towns in southern Lebanon. But his comments added to the uncertainty over whether Israel would remain in a handful of strategic points within Lebanese territory.
In a statement released by U.S. Central Command, Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers — who chairs the U.S.-led cease-fire committee in Lebanon — said he was confident that Lebanon’s military would control “all population centers” in the country’s south once the deadline elapses for Israeli troops to withdraw next Tuesday.
But Mr. Jeffers’s phrasing left the window open for the continued presence of Israeli troops at five key points along the border. The Israeli plan was reportedly relayed to the Lebanese government this week by U.S. officials.
The speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament, Nabih Berri, said on Thursday that U.S. officials had told him that Israel intended to remain in five areas inside Lebanese territory, a plan that Mr. Berri said the Lebanese government had firmly rejected. Lebanon’s government has repeatedly said that Israel must completely withdraw from the country when the deadline for its pullout elapses on Feb. 18.
Under the terms of a 60-day cease-fire deal signed in November that ended the deadliest war between Israel and Hezbollah in decades, Israeli troops were supposed to withdraw last month from Lebanon.
But they have not done so, and thousands of Lebanese still cannot return to border towns in the country’s south that are still occupied by the Israeli military. More than two dozen people were killed by Israeli forces last month when they tried to enter their southern towns and villages, according to the Lebanese government.
With the truce deal now extended until Feb. 18, many in Lebanon fear the prospect of another prolonged Israeli occupation.
Israel’s strategic affairs minister, Ron Dermer, a close confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Bloomberg this week that Israel planned to hold the five strategic high points until Lebanon complies with its cease-fire commitments.
Under the terms of the truce deal, Hezbollah must also withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese military must deploy there in force. But Israeli officials have repeatedly accused them of not upholding their end of the bargain.
The Lebanese military has deployed into several towns in southern Lebanon, but only after Israel’s military withdrew from them. Lebanon’s military has accused Israel of adopting a scorched-earth policy, including demolishing and setting fire to homes as it pulled out of towns and villages.
On Friday, the Lebanese military said on social media that it was contending with protests and an attack on its forces near the airport in the area of the capital, Beirut, with protesters trying to shut down the road to the airport.
The protests, which began on Thursday after an Iranian flight was barred from landing at the airport in Beirut, are a reminder of the continued influence of Hezbollah and its patrons in Tehran and the fragility of the truce that the Lebanese Army and international peacekeepers are tasked with overseeing.
The military warned citizens to avoid inflaming internal tensions at a critical time for the country and promised to arrest and punish rioting. It noted that there had also been attacks on peacekeepers.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, is responsible for monitoring the cease-fire. The mission noted in a statement on Friday night that a UNIFIL convoy taking peacekeepers to Beirut airport had been “violently attacked, and a vehicle was set on fire.” UNIFIL’s outgoing Deputy Force Commander, who was returning home after ending his mission, was injured, UNIFIL said.
“We are shocked by this outrageous attack on peacekeepers who have been serving to restore security and stability to south Lebanon during a difficult time,” the mission said.
Ephrat Livni contributed reporting from Washington.
