Netanyahu says Israel will stay in southern Lebanon security zone as long as needed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel’s military policy in southern Lebanon has not changed and that IDF troops there are authorized to act against any direct or developing threat to themselves and to residents of northern Israel. He said the directive from him and Defense Minister Israel Katz is clear and unchanged, and that the army faces no restrictions on this matter.

Netanyahu said he gives full backing to the IDF forces operating in the sector. “I stand behind them, the entire nation stands behind them,” he said.

He also made clear that Israel does not plan to withdraw from the southern Lebanon security zone at this stage. “I stand firm on remaining in the security zone in southern Lebanon as long as required to protect the residents of the north and all the citizens of the state,” he said.