Beirut Accuses Israel Over South Lebanon Demolitions

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz toured south Lebanon on Wednesday, August 12, and told cameras that the Israeli army is destroying underground infrastructure there and demolishing every house in its path. A few hours later, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam responded in a statement that this amounts to a grave breach of international humanitarian law. During the same visit, Katz said Israeli troops will not withdraw from the zones they hold in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, even though a framework agreement on a phased withdrawal from Lebanon was reached in Washington in late June.

The Lebanese army listed what was blown up that day in the village of Zawtar el Sharkiya, which borders one of the so called pilot zones under the agreement:

• a municipal building
• a public school
• a health clinic
• a kindergarten
• several family homes

The state National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli forces carried out demolitions in other southern villages as well. In recent weeks, Zawtar el Gharbiya, Mansouri, Majdal Zoun and Burj el Shemali have all been named.

What exactly did the Lebanese prime minister say?

Salam’s statement used language the Lebanese government had not put this bluntly before:

Attacks, incursions, demolitions and the systematic destruction of homes, infrastructure, government buildings and places of worship constitute a grave violation of the principles and rules of international law and international humanitarian law.

In the same statement, the prime minister rejected Israel’s justification that the demolished towns were military targets.

The claim that entire villages and towns are ‘military objects’ does not hold up to any logic and cannot be used as a pretext for destroying them, displacing their residents and preventing their return.

The statement makes two distinct legal claims: one about how the operations are being conducted, the other about the status of the targets themselves. Both are now part of the file Beirut is bringing to the table in Rome.

What does the Washington framework call for?

The framework reached in late June calls for a phased withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanese territory, with the Lebanese army deploying into positions Israel vacates. It starts with a limited set of pilot zones, and in exchange calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament. Hezbollah, which is not a party to the talks, has said it will withdraw south of the Litani River but will not surrender its weapons north of it.

Seven rounds of talks have been held so far under United States mediation, four in Washington and three in Rome. None of the documents sets a deadline for a full withdrawal.

From March 2 to today

Lebanon entered the war on March 2, when Hezbollah began striking northern Israel, triggering heavy air strikes and a ground incursion. A ceasefire brokered by Washington took effect on April 17, but strikes and demolitions continued, and Israeli forces still hold dozens of villages in the south of the country.

According to Lebanese authorities, more than 4,300 people have been killed since March, and more than a million residents, roughly a fifth of Lebanon’s population, have been displaced. Those numbers kept climbing through the summer, well after the ceasefire formally took effect.

The latest escalation began on August 5, when Israel struck the town of Mansouri, accusing Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire in an attack near Majdal Zoun that killed two Israeli soldiers. Israeli forces then ordered Mansouri’s residents to evacuate, the first such order in weeks. A separate strike killed one person and wounded 11, and a house in Burj el Shemali was hit the following day. Hezbollah did not claim responsibility for the attack that killed the Israeli soldiers and has made no public statement on it.

Washington repeats its line, skips the deadline

The State Department gave a guarded answer when asked by reporters.

We expect all parties to act in accordance with the Framework they have accepted.

A US administration official added that Israel has made clear it has no territorial claims on Lebanon. Meanwhile in Congress, two senators have proposed a $1.2 billion security assistance package for Lebanon over five years, with part of the funds conditioned on progress toward a state monopoly on weapons and on disarming Hezbollah.

The same day Katz toured the south, Lebanese army commander Rodolphe Haykal received US General Joseph Clearfield, who heads the coordination group overseeing implementation of the June agreement. The Lebanese army said the two discussed security arrangements in the south and the difficulties in carrying out its tasks, chiefly attacks, bulldozing and demolitions. Clearfield was also received by President Joseph Aoun.

An eighth round of talks has been set for Rome next month. No exact date has been announced.