Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has urged France and the United States to “pressure” Israel to “speed up” the withdrawal of its forces from southern Lebanon, almost a month after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect.
Washington and Paris are members of the five-member committee that also includes Lebanon, Israel and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) tasked with maintaining dialogue between the parties while recording and addressing ceasefire violations.
The committee was formed under the terms of the ceasefire agreement that went into effect on 27 November, and about two months after Israel escalated its aggression against Lebanon.
During a tour in the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon, Mikati said: “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.”
A Middle East Monitor report says that earlier reports indicated that Israel has violated the truce agreement more than 287 times over the past month.
“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, stressing that “delay and procrastination in implementing the international resolution did not come from the army, but from the Israeli side.”
The National News Agency said the Israeli army continued its violations and attacks on southern Lebanon and “raised the Israeli flag” on a hill between the towns of Bayada and Naqoura.
