Lebanon says US delegation will oversee Israeli withdrawal from 'pilot zones'

BEIRUT: A US delegation was expected to arrive in Lebanon soon to oversee the implementation of Israel’s withdrawal from “pilot zones” in the south, the Lebanese presidency reported on Thursday, citing the American ambassador.

Lebanon is demanding that Israel withdraw from these zones before taking part in a new round of negotiations scheduled for July 15 and 16 in Rome, a diplomatic source familiar with the talks told AFP on Wednesday.

The two countries reached a framework agreement on June 26 that calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory while Lebanon’s army deploys into “pilot zones”.

The US ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, told President Joseph Aoun that “an American military delegation will arrive in Beirut in the coming days to… determine the mechanism for implementation on the ground,” according to the Lebanese presidency.

The agreement – rejected by Hezbollah – does not set a timetable for Israel’s withdrawal, and Israeli officials have also vowed that their forces will remain in a “security zone” 10 kilometres (six miles) deep as long as Hezbollah remains armed.

“It is essential to avoid any vacuum when Israeli forces withdraw from the designated area,” Issa added, according to a statement from the presidency.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, for his part, once again called on the United States to “exert pressure on Israel to halt military operations and comply with the provisions of the framework”.

Aoun is expected to visit Washington later this month at the invitation of his American counterpart Donald Trump.