US ambassador visits village in southern Lebanon controlled by army
US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa visited the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya in southern Lebanon, which recently came under the control of the Lebanese army as part of a framework agreement with Israel. Asharq Al-Awsat reports, citing an AFP correspondent and Lebanon's state-run National News Agency.
According to Lebanon's National News Agency, the US envoy's convoy arrived in the village, where Issa visited a church. During the visit, an Israeli drone was monitoring the area, while Israeli military equipment was seen moving in a neighboring locality.
Agreement on southern Lebanon
The US-backed agreement reached in June provides for Israeli troops to leave occupied areas of southern Lebanon in parallel with the deployment of the Lebanese army there. The initial stage consists of so-called pilot zones, while a condition for implementing the agreement is the disarmament of Hezbollah.
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According to the publication, Israeli troops are still present in an area Israel calls a security zone. It is a strip of Lebanese territory about 10 kilometers deep along the border. Israeli forces recently blew up a strategic Hezbollah position on the Ali al-Taher ridge in the Nabatieh region; a magnitude 4.1 tremor was recorded after the explosion.
Negotiations postponed until October
A new round of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on implementing the agreement had been planned for September, but was postponed until October. A source in the Lebanese president's administration told AFP that during the previous round in August, Israel refused to discuss new pilot zones until the Lebanese army had full control over the zones already designated.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visited Zawtar al-Gharbiya on Saturday, inspected army units and observed nearby Israeli military positions, his administration said. Hezbollah does not support negotiations with Israel and refuses to disarm, although it has not claimed responsibility for the latest attacks. According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli strikes have claimed more than 4,300 lives since hostilities began in March.
