A senior U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday that Israel had partially withdrawn from southern Lebanon as a goodwill gesture, on the opening day of the third and final round of Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington. Both Israel and Lebanon quickly denied the report, and Israeli officials said the pilot program has not yet begun.
The American official said the Lebanese army should now move into the vacated area and remove weapons and terror infrastructure. He said, “Israel has already taken a concrete step by withdrawing from part of its buffer zone. This is a significant demonstration of goodwill toward the legitimate government of Lebanon.” He added that this model should be repeated across southern Lebanon to enable the safe return of displaced families, the reconstruction of the south, and the restoration of full Lebanese sovereignty.
The report did not specify how much territory was involved or where the alleged withdrawal took place. A senior Lebanese official said his country had no knowledge of any Israeli withdrawal from the buffer zone in southern Lebanon. The Israeli denial came from both the political leadership and the military.
The claim came after N12 reported earlier this week that Israel would arrive in Washington with maps and propose a pilot plan for a limited partial withdrawal in a small area of southern Lebanon. According to that report, the area would likely be relatively cleared, and the Lebanese army would enter under American supervision. An Israeli source said, “We are coming with maps to decide what the pilot area in Lebanon will be,” and added that it would be south of the Litani River, meaning south of the yellow line. The talks are expected to end Thursday afternoon and have been split into political and military working groups.
