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Senior security officials warned on Thursday that a delay of the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon would be devastating. According to the cease-fire agreement negotiated to end the war with Hezbollah, that stipulated that the terror group must be kept north of the Litani River, IDF troops must leave South Lebanon on Sunday, 60 days after the agreement came into effect.
"The IDF is effectively enforcing the deal," the officials said. "If we don't show the Americans and the Lebanese that we are complying with the terms of the agreement, we are putting our outstanding military achievements at risk," the officials said, amid their concerns that Hezbollah will rebuild its strength if Israel does will not stay true to its commitments to Lebanon.
Some in political circles believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to slow-walk or delay the military withdrawal, because of among other things, pressure from his far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich.
The security officials pointed to the presence of Americans in Lebanon as one of the clear advantages in the deal, that could be in danger. "The current American administration could reexamine its position there, if the deal collapses. The fact that they are there, provides a high level of certainty for stability," an official said.
"There is today, an extraordinary and historic potential, the best since the 1980s, to reduce the terrorist forces including Hezbollah and achieve calm. There is Saudi and American will to rebuild there and a new president whom Israel may be able to work with," the official said, warning that this chance must not be lost. officials claim the IDF will continue to enforce the terms of the deal and initiate attacks over any violation from Hezbollah.
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IDF troops operate in South Lebanon
(IDF)
According to the cease-fire agreement, only Lebanon's army forces will be allowed to bear arms or use military force in South Lebanon, as of Sunday. The Lebanese army must work to dismantle any military or terror infrastructure built by Hezbollah in the areas south of the Litani.
According to Arab media reports, Lebanon's army has been trying to deploy to the South in accordance with UN resolution 1701, but have been coming across Israeli forces in some areas. In one report, a Lebanese army force was surprised to encounter three IDF tanks in the South Lebanon village of Talusa and delayed its deployment there. Lebanese troops completed preparations to deploy elsewhere in the area and were preventing the return of villagers from areas where IDF troops had not left.
Lebanon's former prime minister Najib Mikati said earlier this week that in a meeting of the international Cessation of Hostilities Implementation Mechanism, the committee that oversees the compliance with the cease-fire deal, the American chairman Major General Jasper Jeffers told him that the Israeli withdrawal might be delayed by a number of days.
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The Hezbollah-affiliated al Akhbar newspaper quoted an official who claimed that the IDF had complained about the refusal of the Lebanon army to take control of Hezbollah assets, including warehouses and homes, and to confiscate weapons.
Lebanon's new president Joseph Aoun said his government is insistent on Israel's withdrawal. "The fact that Israel is not committed to pulling its troops out is contrary to the promises given to Lebanon during the negotiations."