Israel and Lebanon have “moved to the implementation stage” of the U.S.-brokered framework agreement reached last month, a U.S. official said on Thursday.
The agreement calls for the creation of pilot zones in Southern Lebanon where Hezbollah forces and infrastructure would be removed, allowing the Lebanese Armed Forces to assume control and restore government authority. The process would eventually enable an Israeli military withdrawal from the areas.
Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, announced on Monday that Israeli and Lebanese officials would resume talks in Rome on July 15-16. Lebanon has reportedly conditioned its participation on Israel fulfilling its pledge to withdraw from two initial pilot zones.
“Rome is a closed discussion that will enable the governments to hand off to technical teams, which will work on all issues outlined in the framework,” the U.S. official said. “The first pilot zone will launch in a matter of days, and further pilot zones are being mapped out and planned.”
U.S. Central Command, the U.S. military command responsible for the Middle East, is coordinating with both countries on implementation, the official said.
“We will soon begin outreach to international partners to help the Lebanese government effectively restore sovereignty in these zones and across their country more broadly,” the official said.
The framework was signed in Washington on June 26 by Israeli and Lebanese representatives with U.S. mediation. It is aimed at gradually transferring security responsibility in Southern Lebanon to the Lebanese state while addressing the threat posed by Hezbollah. The U.S.-designated terrorist organization was excluded from the negotiations.
