BEIRUT: Lebanon is awaiting the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid growing concern over Israel’s commitment to withdrawing from southern Lebanon.
The meeting comes a week after a US-Lebanon summit in Washington, during which Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that accelerating Israel’s withdrawal would remove Hezbollah’s justification for retaining its weapons.
A Lebanese official told Arab News that Washington had shown an understanding of Beirut’s position during the closed-door talks.
The official said Trump instructed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who attended the meeting, to contact Netanyahu and urge him to cooperate over the withdrawal in accordance with the framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel following negotiations in Washington in late June.
“The agreement must be implemented because it bears the signature of the United States,” the official said.
Lebanese political and military officials have expressed frustration over Israeli actions since implementation began in the first pilot zone in the town of Zawtar Al-Gharbiyah, saying they constitute violations of the agreement.
Aoun told UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Monday that Israel’s continued destruction of homes and bulldozing of villages in southern Lebanon constituted “a direct violation of human rights and a clear breach of international laws and norms.”
He said the actions required international intervention.
According to the presidency, Aoun said Lebanon remained committed to implementing the framework agreement but feared that Israeli practices could undermine its effectiveness.
“Lebanon will not accept the continued violation of the agreement’s provisions,” he said.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the government supported the continued work of the UN human rights office in gathering and documenting evidence of acts that could constitute war crimes.
He said documentation by a neutral international body would help strengthen accountability for violations.
Attention is now turning to the seventh round of direct Lebanese-Israeli negotiations, under US sponsorship, scheduled to take place in Rome on Aug. 4.
Lebanon is placing significant importance on the talks, which are expected to indicate the extent of Israel’s commitment to the framework agreement and its security annex, as well as its willingness to complete its withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
The talks are also expected to address the operating mechanism of the tripartite monitoring committee headed by US Gen. Joseph Clearfield.
The visit to Lebanon by Gen. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, has taken on added significance following the start of implementation of the agreement.
Cooper is expected to assess the Lebanese Army’s requirements as it expands its deployment and carries out its duties in the south as part of continuing US support for the military.
The Lebanese military accused Israel of continuing to violate existing understandings and international law through the systematic destruction of homes, bulldozing of land, shelling and machine-gun fire in several southern areas.
It said Israeli forces had opened fire near Lebanese military positions in Kfar Tebnit, Nabatieh Al-Fawqa and Zawtar Al-Gharbiyah, obstructing military operations.
The Lebanese Army said it was continuing to oversee the return of residents to Zawtar Al-Gharbiyah and carrying out operations to protect civilians in the town, as well as in Froun and Srifa.
It warned that the continued attacks were obstructing the completion of its deployment, preventing residents from returning to their homes and undermining efforts to restore stability in the south.
Israeli attacks over the previous 24 hours targeted Kfar Tebnit in Nabatieh governorate; Hadatha and Kounine in Bint Jbeil district; the Naba Ebel Al-Saqi area; and Al-Mansouri, Buyout Al-Sayyad and Majdal Zoun in Tyre district.
The Israeli military confirmed that it had carried out a demolition operation targeting a water facility belonging to the Litani River Authority in Markaba, in Marjayoun district.
Before leaving for the US, Netanyahu reportedly told Israeli Cabinet ministers that he would reject American demands for withdrawals from Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.
Israeli media quoted him as saying that he intended to “stand firm” against such demands.
The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that Netanyahu wanted clarification over the understandings discussed during the Aoun-Trump meeting.
It said the Israeli military controlled a strip extending about 10 km from the Blue Line to a series of commanding hills, including Ali Al-Taher, as well as the Ras Al-Bayada and Majdal Zoun areas in the west.
The report said Israel had established a multilayered defense system relying on mobile forces and surveillance equipment, with the aim of creating a demilitarized zone and preventing rocket and drone attacks.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah continued its criticism of the Lebanese state, citing Israel’s escalating rhetoric over its withdrawal.
Hezbollah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan said on Monday that “the enemies of the resistance will not be able to disarm it, and these weapons will not be handed over to anyone.”
He called on the Lebanese authorities to secure Israel’s full and unconditional withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Hajj Hassan said the military’s deployment in Zawtar Al-Gharbiyah did not constitute an achievement because the town had not previously been occupied by Israel.
“The Israeli enemy’s prime minister has announced that Israel will not easily withdraw from any area,” he said.
“We do not know whether any alleged Israeli withdrawal will include a town that was already liberated, as happened in Zawtar Al-Gharbiyah.”
Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad said the process pursued by the Lebanese authorities was “filled with land mines” and would not necessarily lead to an Israeli withdrawal.
He said it had failed to secure a ceasefire or bring an end to Israeli attacks.
