Bezalel Smotrich: "Israel will remain in Lebanon even in the face of American pressure"
"As long as Hezbollah is not disarmed, we will not move an inch," he insisted
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel would maintain its military presence in southern Lebanon "for years" and would not withdraw, even if the United States explicitly requested it.
In an interview with the newspaper Makor Rishon, the leader of the Religious Zionism party suggested that such a demand from America was unlikely, believing Washington "understands our red lines."
Asked whether the Israeli deployment would remain in place for years, Smotrich replied unequivocally: "Yes." Smotrich said he answered speaking as an official currently involved in negotiations on the management of the Defense budget for the next decade.
The minister also defended the establishment of permanent military infrastructure in the security zone controlled by the IDF in Lebanon. "Everything, absolutely everything. We are there until Hezbollah is disarmed, and I think even beyond that, because we need defensible borders," he said.
Smotrich criticized the Israeli-Lebanese border established under the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement, which he considers "illogical," arguing that it failed to take the topography of the land into account.
"As long as Hezbollah is not disarmed, we will not move a single inch," he stressed. He also stated that his position was shared by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Smotrich's statements come as a fragile ceasefire remains in effect in southern Lebanon and discussions between Washington and Tehran continue in Switzerland in an effort to stabilize the regional situation.