On June 24 in Tel Aviv, Israeli defense minister Katz said the IDF will not
withdraw from the "security zone" in southern Lebanon and will not change that
position even if requested by the United States. He said roughly 200,000
Lebanese residents will not be allowed to return to the area. Katz added: "When
civilians lived in the security zone in the past there were roadside bombings
and attacks on soldiers, so we will not allow that to happen again." Earlier,
Israeli Channel 13 reported that amid new Israel-Lebanon talks in the United
States, Israel had been considering a partial troop pullback from parts of
southern Lebanon.
