Hizbollah has gained a hand on the diplomatic steering wheel in Lebanon and is exploiting it for all it is worth. The memorandum states that the ceasefire in Iran and the negotiations there are linked to the situation in Lebanon. Yet Hizbollah was not originally a party to the negotiations concerning Lebanon.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem demanded on Sunday that Israel withdraw from Lebanon and warned that the group would respond to any violation of the ceasefire, according to reports.
Qassem also referred to Israel as “the aggressor” and said there would be no “safe zone” for IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon, according to The Jerusalem Post.
He accused Israel of deceiving the negotiators and said that the country “has made no concessions to Lebanon in recent months, but has only sought to deceive, escalated its attacks and dictated its demands”.
The remarks came as Israel signalled that it has no plans to withdraw from the area.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the military would maintain a “security zone” in southern Lebanon “for as long as necessary”.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz also said on Sunday that Israeli troops would continue to operate in Lebanon without restrictions in order to remove threats.
Hezbollah had not carried out attacks on Israeli territory on Sunday.
Hizbollah has got a foot in the door and is using the opportunity to force it open further, that is, to extract concessions from Israel. Israel does not like that.