Israeli forces to stay in south Lebanon beyond deadline

The Israeli government says a ceasefire deal with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah was not being implemented fast enough, days before Israel is meant to complete a withdrawal of its forces from southern Lebanon under the terms of the deal.

Israel and the Lebanese militant group agreed in November to an American- and French-mediated ceasefire, bringing an end to more than a year of fighting. Under the deal, Israeli forces were to withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon over a 60-day period ending next Sunday morning.

"There have been positive movements where the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have taken the place of Hezbollah forces, as stipulated in the agreement," Israeli government spokesmen David Mencer told reporters, referring to UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

"We've also made clear that these movements have not been fast enough, and there is much more work to do," he said, affirming that Israel wanted the agreement to continue.

Mencer did not directly respond to questions about whether Israel had requested an extension of the deal or say whether Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon after the 60-day deadline.

Three diplomats said it looked like Israeli forces would still be in some parts of southern Lebanon after the 60-day mark.

A senior Lebanese political source said President Joseph Aoun had been in contact with US and French officials to urge Israel to complete the withdrawal within the stipulated timeframe.

The Lebanese government has told US mediators that Israel's failure to withdraw on time could complicate the Lebanese army's deployment, and this would be a blow to diplomatic efforts and the optimistic atmosphere in Lebanon since Aoun was elected president on January 9.

Ali Fayyad, a Hezbollah MP, said on January 20 that if Israel failed to withdraw this would put all Lebanese people in a new phase of "confronting the Israeli occupation through all possible means and tools to force it from our land".

"This confrontation is the responsibility of all Lebanese: the government, the army, the people, parties and resistance", said Fayyad, in comments reported by Lebanon's National News Agency.