Israel to remain in southern Lebanon until security concerns dissipate — Netanyahu

TEL AVIV, June 18. /TASS/. Israel does not intend to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon until it can be sure that its territory is safe, the Prime Minister of the Jewish state, Benjamin Netanyahu stated as quoted by his office.

"We will restore security and prosperity to the northern areas [of Israel]. To do this, it is necessary to maintain the security zone in southern Lebanon, and we must not leave there until Israel's security needs are met," he said at the opening ceremony of a new tourist route through biblical sites on the West Bank of the Jordan River.

He once again asserted that Israel had managed to "break the axis of evil" led by Iran, which the Israeli side also includes the radical Palestinian movement Hamas and the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah. "We are holding back Hamas in Gaza, where we control over 60% of the territory of the sector, and in Lebanon we have eliminated the threat of a ground invasion of our settlements and broken Hezbollah's missile power. In both places, much remains to be done, but we have already done a tremendous amount of work," the Prime Minister believes.

Netanyahu warned that the "struggle is not over yet, and many difficulties lie ahead," and in this regard spoke about relations with the US. "They (difficulties – TASS) require us to have endurance, a firm position regarding security interests, and at the same time maintain important relations with our US friends, who fought shoulder to shoulder with us, and we greatly appreciate this. We will continue to chart our path wisely and prudently, we will preserve the government's achievements, we will preserve the achievements of the war – these are the achievements of the entire people of Israel," he indicated.

Officials from the US, Iran, and Pakistan, which is acting as a mediator, confirmed on June 14 an agreement between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending the war in the Middle East. According to Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, during the 60-day ceasefire, the parties will discuss, among other things, Tehran’s nuclear program. Starting from June 15, the US ends the naval blockade of Iran, along with an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon.