Israeli troops will remain at five strategic outposts in Southern Lebanon “indefinitely,” despite the launch of talks with Beirut over 13 disputed points along the international border, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Friday.
“In a situation assessment held yesterday by Defense Minister Israel Katz, attended by [Israel Defense Forces] Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the head of the Operations Directorate, the head of Military Intelligence, the Home Front Command chief, and other senior officials from the IDF and the defense establishment, the defense minister clarified that the IDF will remain at the five key points controlling the buffer zones in Lebanon indefinitely,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
“This is intended to protect the residents of the north, regardless of any future negotiations over disputed border points,” it continued.
“The defense minister instructed the IDF to strengthen and solidify its hold on the outposts and prepare for an extended stay at the five key points currently held by the IDF,” the ministry concluded.
The five outposts are positioned at dominant points that allow remote control, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported.
The posts are located outside Lebanese villages, as the IDF hopes this will prevent friction with the local population, per Kan.
The company-size posts, located within several hundred meters of the border, will be manned by hundreds of IDF soldiers.
The five outposts are located at a hill near Labbouneh, opposite the Israeli border town of Shlomi; on the Jabal Blat peak, opposite Moshav Zar’it; on a hill opposite Moshav Avivim and Kibbutz Malkia; on a hill opposite Moshav Margaliot; and on a hill opposite the town of Metula.
On Tuesday, Israel and Lebanon initiated negotiations toward settling the border disputes between the countries.
Representatives of the IDF, the United States, France and Lebanon agreed during a meeting in Naqoura in Southern Lebanon to establish three joint working groups aimed at stabilizing the region.
As part of these developments, and in coordination with the United States, five Lebanese detainees were transferred from Israel to the Land of the Cedars as a gesture of goodwill to Lebanon’s recently elected President Joseph Aoun.
