In a remarkable development that reflects the extent of American-Israeli coordination, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation “Kan” revealed that the United States asked Israel to freeze all operations that it classifies as “sensitive” in southern Lebanon, for fear of widening the scope of the confrontation in light of the ongoing escalation with Iran, while Tel Aviv is preparing, according to the report, to begin withdrawing from experimental areas in the south next week in conjunction with a new round of negotiations with Lebanon.
According to a report by journalists Itay Blumenthal and Gilly Cohen in the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation “Kan”, the political echelon in Israel issued instructions to the Israeli army to freeze all operations considered “sensitive” in southern Lebanon, in response to an American request.
The report explained that these instructions will remain in effect until a new resolution is issued, as well as until the path of the current escalation between the United States and Iran, and the fate of the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, becomes clear.
He added that the US administration, which has been preoccupied in recent days with the confrontation with Iran, has expressed its fear that Israel will be drawn into this confrontation, which may lead to expanding the circle of conflict in the region.
The report quoted an Israeli security source as saying that Israel is ready to exploit any Iranian attack against it to carry out massive strikes inside Iran, but the White House request prompted the political leadership to issue instructions to the army to wait, with the aim of preventing the confrontation from expanding to include Israel.
In the same context, Kan reported that the Israeli army is preparing to begin withdrawing from the “Pilot” areas in southern Lebanon starting next week, coinciding with the holding of a new round of Lebanese-Israeli talks in the Italian capital, Rome.
The report indicated that an American delegation responsible for coordinating communications between Lebanon and Israel visited Israel this week, and will head next week to Lebanon to complete the final arrangements before the Israeli withdrawal from the western towns of Zawtar and Faron.
The report concluded by noting that the US Ambassador to Israel, Yechiel Leiter, will head the Israeli delegation in the upcoming meetings with the American team, which had previously participated in previous negotiating rounds with the Lebanese side, indicating the continuation of the negotiating track in parallel with the field arrangements on the border.
