Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has said Israel will not pull its forces out of southern Lebanon “even if there is an American demand”, Al Jazeera reports.
“200,000 residents will not return,” says Katz, referring to the Lebanese forcibly displaced by Israel’s invasion and attacks, in comments carried by The Times Israel.
“What happened in the past in security zones, where there was also a civilian population [present], was roadside bombs and attacks against the soldiers, and therefore we will not allow that,” adds Katz.
“We are not withdrawing.”
