Israel’s Netanyahu outlines pilot withdrawal plan in south Lebanon amid disputed map: details

Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Facing a map showing what he called an Israeli security zone in Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli army would withdraw from two areas in southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu said Israel and Lebanon, under U.S. sponsorship, had agreed on two areas near the Yellow Line, recommended by the Israeli army, where a pilot zone would be implemented for the disarmament of Hezbollah and the transfer of territory to the Lebanese army.

In practical terms, one of the areas is located south of the Litani River in the village of Froun, while the second lies north of the river in the village of Zawtar el-Gharbiyeh, an area recently expanded by the Israeli army. Netanyahu said Israeli forces do not need to remain in either location.

However, Froun, a village south of the Litani River that has been heavily affected by the conflict and was visited by an LBCI camera crew, was never entered by Israeli forces. Its inclusion in what was described as a pilot zone, therefore, does not reflect an actual withdrawal, but rather a political and security test sought by Tel Aviv.

Zawtar el-Gharbiyeh, which Israel entered but did not establish positions in, presents a different case. It lies in a more sensitive area, though it does not carry the same military weight as nearby Zawtar el-Charqiyeh. 

The village is larger, more densely populated, and closer to the Yohmor-Arnoun axis and the Beaufort Castle area, elevated terrain that provides broader oversight of the Litani River and the Nabatieh region.

The area initially sought by Lebanon as part of the first phase of the test carries military and geographic significance, as it would allow Israeli forces to be pushed farther from the Nabatieh region and the Shaqif highlands. However, the map released from Tel Aviv did not adopt the Lebanese proposal as presented, instead including Zawtar el-Gharbiyeh and Froun.

The timeline for implementing the two pilot zones, particularly the Israeli withdrawal from Zawtar el-Gharbiyeh, has not yet been announced.

In this context, Froun and Zawtar el-Gharbiyeh shift from names on a map to a test of the agreement itself. 

The question is whether the pilot zones mark the beginning of a genuine withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army, or whether they amount to a redefinition of the status quo, with villages used to signal political progress while core disputes remain unresolved over the Yellow Line, Hezbollah’s arsenal, and the continued presence of Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.