Israel, Lebanon Discuss Pilot Scheme To Hand Over Territory

Lebanon and Israel are discussing a U.S.-backed proposal for Israeli forces to transfer some of the Lebanese territory invaded in their war with Hezbollah to Lebanon’s military, officials on both sides said.

The proposed pilot project ‌is part of the latest round of Israeli-Lebanese talks in Washington, which are going ahead even after they appear to have been eclipsed by Iran’s move to make Lebanon central to its talks with the United States.

An Israeli drone strike on a car in southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed at least two people, Lebanese security and medical sources told Reuters, despite a new ceasefire.

The Israeli military told Reuters it was checking the reports. Earlier, it said its air force had struck two armed Hezbollah fighters near the zone controlled by Israeli troops in southern Lebanon in a separate incident.

Israeli forces have seized a swathe of southern Lebanon during the war that was ⁠ignited when Hezbollah opened fire at Israel in support of Tehran, days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

A ceasefire has largely held since Sunday but Israeli forces are still deployed deep inside southern Lebanon, citing the need to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah attack.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday Israel would not withdraw from southern Lebanon, even if the U.S. demanded it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will remain in Lebanon as long as necessary.

The Israeli officials said the Lebanese troops involved in the U.S.-backed proposal would undergo U.S. training and vetting to ensure they are not linked to Hezbollah, while Israel would maintain a military presence in a buffer zone along the border.

Asked about the Israeli officials’ comments, a senior Lebanese security official said discussions were ongoing in Washington and that specific military-to-military talks, including on the pilot zones, would take place on Wednesday.

The Lebanese official said the discussions would focus on a timeline for Israeli withdrawal and that any plan would emerge only after the final ‌day of ⁠talks on Thursday. The official did not respond to a request for comment on the Israeli officials’ account of U.S. vetting of Lebanese troops.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told a British-German delegation that discussions on the proposed “pilot areas” were ongoing and awaiting Israeli approval, the Lebanese presidency said.

Lebanon’s army, which recruits from across the country’s sectarian mosaic, has long received U.S. military aid, part of U.S. policy to bolster government security institutions in a country where critics say Hezbollah has undermined the state.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shi’ite Muslim group established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, has consistently demanded the Lebanese government withdraw from the U.S.-backed talks with Israel — Beirut’s highest-level contacts with Israel in decades.

Tehran included a ceasefire in Lebanon in its interim deal with the U.S., under which both countries and their allies declared an immediate and permanent end of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, and pledged to ensure Lebanon’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said on Tuesday Lebanon ⁠was “an unquestionable part of the agreement” and that it included the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

A joint statement issued after U.S.-Iranian talks in Switzerland on Monday said the parties had agreed to create a “de-confliction cell” to ensure adherence to the termination of hostilities in Lebanon.

On Tuesday, the U.S. said it was committed to forming the cell to consolidate the ceasefire in Lebanon, and that details on how it would operate were still under review.

A U.S. proposal for Lebanese army-controlled “pilot zones” featured in a ceasefire plan agreed by Lebanese and Israeli officials on June 3. Hezbollah rejected the plan, which was contingent on the group ceasing fire and evacuating its fighters from a swathe of the south.