BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, April 21 (Reuters) – Lebanon’s parliament speaker warned on Tuesday that Israeli forces occupying parts of the country’s south would face resistance if they fail to withdraw, signalling a risk of renewed confrontation ahead of U.S.-mediated talks this week.
A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah mediated by Washington has largely held since last Thursday, but Israeli forces remain deployed in a belt of Lebanese land 5-10 km deep along the entire border. Israel has said it aims to create a buffer zone to shield northern Israel from attacks by Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group.
On Thursday the U.S. will host ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon, which was dragged into war on March 2 when Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran in the regional conflict.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Lebanon’s most senior Shi’ite statesman and a Hezbollah ally, told Lebanese newspaper al-Joumhouria that Lebanon could not tolerate losing a metre of land.
If Israel “maintains its occupation, whether of areas, positions, or by drawing yellow lines, it will smell the scent of resistance every day,” said Berri, leader of the Shi’ite Amal Movement.
The Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both referred to Israel’s deployment line in Lebanon as the “Yellow Line” last week – the same term used by Israel for its deployment line in in Gaza.
Israeli officials have since refrained from describing it in those terms, instead calling it a “forward defense line” that was marked in red in a military map published on Sunday that included a “naval forward defense area” extending from Lebanon’s coast into the sea.
BUFFER ZONE UNNECESSARY WITH LASTING PEACE, FRENCH SOURCE SAYS
“If they insist on remaining, they will face resistance, and our history bears witness to that,” Berri said.
Israel withdrew troops from southern Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation, during which both Hezbollah, Amal and other groups carried out attacks against Israeli forces.
A French presidency source said a lasting solution must be reached and that this could not include the establishment of a permanent buffer zone in southern Lebanon. The zone would no longer be necessary for Israel’s security in the event of a lasting peace between Lebanon and Israel, the source said.
Israel responded to Hezbollah’s attack with an offensive that Lebanese authorities say has killed nearly 2,300 people.
The Lebanon conflict has complicated Pakistan’s efforts to mediate between the U.S. and Iran, with Tehran having demanded that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah be included in any deal on the wider war.
President Donald Trump announced the Lebanon ceasefire on April 16 after holding separate phone calls with Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
Iran said at the time the ceasefire was part of an understanding reached with the U.S. and mediated by Pakistan.
Washington has said there is no link between the two sets of talks.
The U.S. hosted talks between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to Washington on April 14, the highest level contacts between the states in decades, despite strong objections from Hezbollah.
NO NEED FOR DIRECT TALKS WITH ISRAEL, BERRI SAYS
Berri, in his comments to Al-Joumhouria, reiterated his view that there was no need for direct talks with Israel, noting that he had been a party to several rounds of indirect negotiations with Israel over the years.
Aoun has listed Israeli withdrawal among the goals of Lebanon’s face-to-face talks with Israel.
His administration has sought Hezbollah’s peaceful disarmament for a year.
Israel has said it wants Hezbollah dismantled.
Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday said that the ultimate goal of the campaign against Hezbollah was to see the group disarmed, by both military and diplomatic means.
“If the Lebanese government continues not to keep it commitment (to disarm Hezbollah), the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will do so by continuing its military activity,” Katz said during a ceremony in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu struck a softer tone on Friday, saying that disarming Hezbollah “will not be achieved tomorrow. It requires sustained effort, patience, and endurance, and it requires wise navigation of the diplomatic field,” he said.
(Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Writing by Tom Perry, Editing by William Maclean)
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