Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz declared Monday that Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza for an indefinite period, in a pointed statement that makes no reference to the US-Iran framework agreement announced the same day.
Israel Katz © Mena Today
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz declared Monday that Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza for an indefinite period, in a pointed statement that makes no reference to the US-Iran framework agreement announced the same day.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are pursuing a clear policy: the Israeli army will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza for an unlimited period, in order to protect the border and Israeli communities against jihadist elements," Katz said, adding that Netanyahu had personally informed President Trump of this position.
The minister did not mince words on Iran either, warning that Israel would retaliate "with full force" if the Islamic Republic attacked in response to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
A Deal That Leaves Israel and Lebanon Exposed
The timing of Katz's statement is not coincidental. The US-Iran framework agreement, welcomed in Washington as a diplomatic breakthrough, has sent shockwaves through Jerusalem and Beirut for the same reason: the deal appears to say nothing meaningful about Hezbollah.
By failing to address Iran's most powerful proxy, the agreement effectively grants Tehran continued leverage over Lebanon, the very leverage it has used since 1982 to hold that country hostage, drag it into wars its people never chose and systematically hollow out its institutions.
For Lebanon, which has a government finally willing to confront Hezbollah and was engaged in direct negotiations with Israel, the framework is a bitter blow. Beirut was not consulted. Its interests were not represented. It was, once again, traded away in a room it was not invited to enter.
For Israel, the message is equally stark: Washington has secured what it came for, a nuclear agreement and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, while the existential threats on Israel's northern border remain intact and unaddressed.
Israel's response is unambiguous: it will not rely on diplomatic paper to protect its citizens. Its troops will stay where they are, for as long as necessary, regardless of what was agreed in the corridors of power between Washington and Tehran.
Some alliances, it turns out, have limits. Israel and Lebanon are discovering where those limits lie.
Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï raised the stakes Sunday, declaring that southern Lebanon "is not a bargaining chip." In his Sunday homily in Mayfouk, in the Jbeil district, the cardinal called for the "protection" of the region, insisting that such protection "begins with the state holding a monopoly on weapons », a thinly veiled call for Hezbollah's disarmament.
A major step forward in Morocco-Israel relations: the two countries "have confirmed their agreement on elevating [their] diplomatic missions to full embassy status," Le Monde reports.
For 24 hours, Israel will live in slow motion. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, begins Sunday evening.
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