The United States has warned Israel against turning its occupation of southern Lebanon into a permanent military presence, saying such a move would violate the framework agreement reached with Beirut and undermine Lebanon's sovereignty.
The unusually direct rebuke from Washington came after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared that Israeli forces would not withdraw from Lebanese territory and had been ordered to prepare for a long-term presence in areas Israel has designated a "security zone".
A senior US State Department official said in a statement sent to Israel's Channel 12 seeking a response to Katz's remarks that Washington expected Israel to abide by the commitments it made under the US-brokered framework signed in late June.
"A permanent military presence in southern Lebanon is inconsistent with the commitments set forth in the framework, or with the long-term peace and security of both countries," the official said.
The official also reaffirmed Washington's "full support for Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty", drawing a clear line between the agreement negotiated by the United States and Katz's declaration that Israeli troops intend to remain on Lebanese soil.
The State Department official stressed that the framework provides a conditions-based pathway towards a gradual Israeli withdrawal, tied to the verified disarmament of Hezbollah and dismantling of its military infrastructure.
"The Lebanese Armed Forces are currently implementing the first pilot areas, and the United States will continue to support the full implementation of this process," the official said.
Israel has publicly framed its occupation of Lebanon as necessary to secure its northern border, but senior Israeli officials have repeatedly advocated the seizure and colonisation of Lebanese territory and the expansion of Israel's northern borders.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for Israel's northern frontier to be moved to the Litani River, while Katz has threatened Lebanon with the "loss of territory". His latest declaration that Israeli forces will remain indefinitely has further fuelled Lebanese fears that the occupation is intended to become permanent.
During a tour of occupied Lebanese territory on Wednesday, Katz said Israeli troops would remain in the so-called "security zones" in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.
"We will not move from here and we will not withdraw," Katz said.
He said he had instructed the Israeli military to make the administrative and operational preparations required for a prolonged deployment.
The language echoed Israel's earlier occupation of southern Lebanon, when it maintained a self-declared "security zone" for nearly two decades before withdrawing in May 2000.
Katz also spoke openly about the destruction being carried out in the occupied area, saying Israeli forces were demolishing homes and alleged "Hezbollah infrastructure".
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Wednesday condemned Israel's "systematic destruction" of homes and infrastructure in the south, saying it violated international law and was intended to prevent displaced Lebanese residents from returning to their land.
The Israeli statements come as negotiations over implementing the June framework remain deadlocked, particularly over the sequence of Israeli withdrawals and the Lebanese army's deployment in the south.
Lebanon has sought further Israeli withdrawals to allow its army to move into additional "pilot zones", while Israel has made further redeployments conditional on the verified disarmament of Hezbollah and dismantling of its infrastructure, while introducing a widening list of unrealistic and unserious demands.
These include the transfer to Israel of remains from Jewish cemeteries in Beirut and Sidon, information on 11 Jews who disappeared or were killed during Lebanon's civil war, and answers over the fate of Israeli airman Ron Arad, who disappeared in Lebanon in 1986.
The impasse has persisted despite the Lebanese army beginning implementation of the framework in the first pilot area. Lebanon has pushed for the same model to be expanded, with Israeli forces withdrawing and the Lebanese army moving in, but Israel has resisted opening additional zones.
Lebanese army commander General Rudolph Haykal raised the obstacles facing the military during meetings this week with US Major General Joseph Clearfield, who heads the military coordination group involved in implementing the agreement.
According to Lebanese accounts of the meetings, Haykal pointed to continuing Israeli attacks, bulldozing and destruction as among the principal difficulties facing the army as it attempts to deploy and carry out its responsibilities in the south.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has sought greater American pressure on Israel to withdraw, raising the issue during his July visit to Washington and talks with US President Donald Trump.
The latest comes ahead of another expected round of US-mediated negotiations in Rome in early September.