KEY POINTS
- Lebanon urges the US and France to expedite Israeli forces’ withdrawal under the truce deal.
- Mikati accuses Israel of delaying its pullout and calls for pressure.
- The UN peacekeeping force urges Israel to avoid ceasefire violations.
- Lebanon seeks international support for reconstruction.
- The World Bank estimates $3.4 billion in physical damage in Lebanon.
BEIRUT, Lebanon: Lebanon’s prime minister on Monday called on the United States and France to help speed up Israeli forces’ withdrawal from his country nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The United States and France, along with Lebanon, Israel and United Nations peacekeepers, make up the committee tasked with maintaining communication between the parties and ensuring ceasefire violations are identified and dealt with.
As part of the truce agreement, the Lebanese army and peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army pulls out over a period of 60 days.
“In order for the army to be able to fully accomplish its missions, the committee must… put pressure on the Israeli enemy to bring an end to all the violations” of the ceasefire, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in the town of Khiam during a tour of the south.
“It is necessary to put pressure on the parties to the ceasefire agreement, namely the French and the Americans, to accelerate the process before the expiration of the 60-day period,” he added, going on to accuse Israel of “dragging its feet”.
UN Peacekeepers Urge Israel to Avoid Violations
Meanwhile, the United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon urged the Israeli military to speed up its withdrawal from the area.
“UNIFIL strongly urges accelerated progress in the IDF’s (Israeli military) withdrawal from and the LAF’s (Lebanese army) deployment in south Lebanon,” the force said in a statement.
The UNIFIL called on “all actors to cease and refrain from violations of resolution 1701 and any actions that could jeopardise the fragile stability that currently prevails.”
The truce in southern Lebanon went into force on November 27 after more than a year of cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that began with the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
The exchanges of fire ultimately escalated into all-out war and the entry of Israeli troops into south Lebanon.
Since the truce took effect, both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.
Questions Over Blue Line
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Mikati also said Monday that he wanted to resolve any questions over the Blue Line — the UN-demarcated boundary between Lebanon and Israel — “so there will be no justification for any Israeli occupation of our land”.
He said he was also working with “the World Bank, the European Union, Arab countries and our international partners to create a trust fund” for reconstruction efforts.
The World Bank estimated in October that the Israeli military bombardment had caused physical damage amounting to “at least $3.4 billion” in Lebanon.
