The Times of Israel on the 9th cited a US official saying Israel's military will
withdraw in the coming days from one of two 'pilot areas' in southern Lebanon to
facilitate the next phase of Israel-Lebanon talks. Under a Washington framework,
Israel agreed to pull back from two small areas in southern Lebanon that had
been cleared of HEZBOLLAH military infrastructure and hand them over to the
Lebanese Armed Forces. An Arab official told the paper Lebanon has informed the
US it will not attend a planned round of Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome next week
until Israel completes the agreed withdrawals. No timetable has been announced
for withdrawal from the second 'pilot area.'
