Report: Hezbollah evacuation of Ali al-Taher prerequisite for framework implementation
Hezbollah's complete surrender of the Ali al-Taher hills to the Lebanese Army is a prerequisite for fully implementing the Framework Agreement, said a political source familiar with Lebanese-U.S. discussions, including the recent visit of the head of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon, General Joseph Clearfield, to Beirut and his meetings with President Joseph Aoun and Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal.
“This includes solidifying the ceasefire, expanding the pilot zones, and establishing the mechanism tasked with verifying the army's deployment in the two pilot zones in the towns of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, Froun and Srifa,” the source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
The political source confirmed that the evacuation of the Ali al-Taher hills is at the top of the agenda for the negotiations session to be hosted by Rome for the third time in early September. He told Asharq al-Awsat that the future of the situation in southern Lebanon hinges on Hezbollah's response to Aoun's demand for its evacuation of the Ali al-Taher hills, including the military installations it has constructed beneath them.
The source added that Hezbollah “has not yet responded as it should to the government’s desire for the army to deploy in the hills of Ali al-Taher.”
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