Trump to refuse Israeli requests for second Lebanon withdrawal extension – report

The Trump administration wants Israel to completely withdraw from southern Lebanon until the Feb. 18 deadline, despite Israeli requests for another extension, a U.S. official told the Times of Israel.

The Israeli government’s request for a second extension of the withdrawal deadline, which was originally set to expire on Jan. 26 on Monday, will not be approved, the official added.

Another report by Channel 12 News on Tuesday said Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu transmitted this request to U.S. President Donald Trump, but apparently, without success.

The report says that Israel is particularly keen on keeping an IDF presence at five strategic sites along the border, to help maintain a Hezbollah-free buffer zone in areas that are directly threatening Israeli towns on the other side of the border.

Several hills the southern Lebanon are significantly higher than the hills on the Israeli side, which allowed Hezbollah to fire directly into the Israeli towns for several months until the Israeli offensive pushed the terrorists north.

Israel has warned that Hezbollah will try to return to the border area as soon as the IDF withdraws from Lebanon and cast doubt on the ability of the Lebanese army (LAF) to prevent this scenario.

The reports of the Trump administration insisting on the Feb. 18 deadline came soon after Morgan Ortagus, the U.S. deputy special envoy to the Middle East, visited Lebanon and Israel over the last weekend.

Israeli media reported that she inspected the border area and visited IDF posts within Lebanon with Israeli officials and IDF commanders during the visit.

However, Ortagus emphasized in Lebanon that the Feb. 18 deadline was a “firm date.”

“February 18th will be the date for redeployment whenever the Israeli — the IDF troops will finish their redeployment,” she said last Friday.

“And of course, the LAF troops will come in behind them. So, we are very committed to that firm date,” she said, adding that “I’ll be back to Lebanon quite a bit.”

Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told the U.S. and France that Lebanon insists on the full withdrawal of IDF forces, including from the five positions in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al-Akhbar reported Wednesday.

The report added that Lebanon also rejects a French proposal to take over the five positions. On Thursday, a meeting of the involved parties in a-Naqoura in southern Lebanon is meant to settle remaining issues of the deployment of international and Lebanese forces in the region.

Meanwhile, the new Lebanese government continues to struggle to reestablish its authorities across the state. The Saudi Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported that the government is expected to remove the mention of Hezbollah as a protector of the state from its foundational guidelines.

In the past, the terror group was part of the so-called “triple equation” to protect Lebanon, which included “the army, the people, and the resistance [Hezbollah].”

Speaking about his future plans, new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he intended to implement U.N. Resolution 1701, which is the basis of the current ceasefire agreement and stipulates the eventual disarmament of Hezbollah.

“It is first of all a question of implementing the Taif agreement which emphasizes that the state must impose its authority over its entire territory, even before 1701. The disarmament south of the Litani should have been carried out years ago,” Nawaf said.

“We are committed to an Israeli withdrawal on time and will use all diplomatic channels to achieve this. Lebanon has kept all its commitments within the framework of this ceasefire.”