Arab News | Lebanon PM pushes for further implementation of Israel deal in Rubio meeting

WASHINGTON: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Monday called for the further implementation of a framework agreement with Israel in his meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington.

Tehran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the broader Middle East war in March this year by attacking Israel, which responded with massive airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people.

Lebanon and Israel concluded a framework agreement in June under US auspices, providing for the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces and the disarmament of Hezbollah, but its implementation has stalled.

In a statement, Salam’s office said that in his meeting with Rubio, he “stressed the need to move to the stage of implementation of the tripartite framework and translation of the principles of reciprocity and phased implementation into practical steps and tangible results on the ground, leading to the restoration of Lebanon’s full sovereignty, the achievement of a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, and the confinement of weapons to the state throughout its territory.”

The agreement also involves the deployment of the Lebanese army to the south, starting in test areas known as “pilot zones.”

Earlier this month, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa visited one of the “pilot zones” that recently came under Lebanese military control “to assess conditions on the ground and see firsthand the progress and challenges” there.

Salam “called for the establishment of a credible verification mechanism to monitor implementation and ensure compliance with the commitments” and stressed the importance of continued US support to the Lebanese military, tasked with the difficult mission of disarming Hezbollah.

The militant group refuses to lay down its weapons, and Israel still carries out strikes on Lebanon and occupies a swath of its south despite the agreement.

On Monday, Lebanon reported a large explosion set off by the Israeli army in the southern town of Mansouri, with the military saying it had completed an operation there and dismantled “terrorist” infrastructure.