Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended ongoing negotiations with Israel on Thursday, insisting they did not amount to betrayal and vowing not to cede “a single inch” of Lebanese territory.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the Israeli army would remain "until further notice" in what it describes as "security zones" in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.
Lebanon signed last week a U.S.-backed framework agreement with Israel to secure peace between the two countries – a move that has been met with major protests from Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Negotiations with Israel are not "treason but a diplomatic war without unnecessary bloodshed," Aoun said Thursday.
The latest war erupted on March 2 when Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader.
Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion that have killed more than 4,200 people in Lebanon, according to the authorities.
The Lebanese president said that Beirut has decided to engage in talks "to guarantee Israel's withdrawal from its territory."
"We will not yield a single inch of Lebanese territory," Aoun declared.
The framework agreement envisions the Lebanese army gradually establishing its authority over south Lebanon as Hezbollah disarms and Israel withdraws, but does not set a timeline for this.
The process will be detailed in a security annex, the contents of which have not been made public.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a visit to the so-called "security zone" in south Lebanon Tuesday, reaffirmed that forces would remain there so long as Hezbollah remained a threat.
