Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press conference Saturday night following the framework agreement reached Friday with the Lebanese government.
"Yesterday before the start of the Sabbath, we achieved a historic accomplishment for the State of Israel," Netanyahu said. "Following direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, mediated by the US, we have reached a framework of understandings that allows us to move forward toward ending the conflict, and, G-d willing, eventually reaching a peace agreement between the two countries."
"Under these understandings, the US and Lebanon have recognized Israel's right to maintain the security zone inside Lebanon for as long as it is required for our security. We will continue to hold it until Hezbollah and the rest of the terrorist organizations are disarmed, and until no further threat to Israel is posed from Lebanon."
Netanyahu stressed, "I want you to know - this is a massive blow to Iran and Hezbollah. Iran tried to force a withdrawal from southern Lebanon upon us. You heard these demands all the time, and you also heard their disappointment and their criticism of the agreement - both theirs and Hezbollah's. I stood firm on our vital interests and forcefully opposed the notion of forcing a withdrawal upon us."
"Lebanon, Israel, and the US are essentially saying to Iran: This is none of your business. You have no status here. You have no involvement and no role, not you, not Hezbollah, and not any terrorist organization."
Netanyahu presented a map of the "Yellow Line" during the press conference, highlighting the two pilot areas from which the IDF will withdraw. According to him, both areas are located largely outside the Yellow Line, with only one including a limited section within it.
"Israel and Lebanon have agreed on two adjacent areas near the Yellow Line, recommended by the IDF, where there will be a pilot program for disarming Hezbollah and transferring the territory to the control of the Lebanese army," he explained. "This is a tremendous achievement, because what were they trying to do? They tried to get us out of there through all kinds of means and pressures. That, of course, will not happen."
Under the framework agreement, both countries recognize each other's sovereignty and commit to working toward resolving the conflict and achieving full peace. Israel explicitly states that it has no territorial claims in Lebanon and that once the threat posed by Hezbollah has been eliminated "throughout Lebanon," there will no longer be a need for an IDF presence in the country.
Israel also committed to a gradual withdrawal from Lebanese territory, beginning with two pilot areas that will be transferred to the control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, subject to the removal of Hezbollah and its terrorist infrastructure from those areas.
Netanyahu continued, "I thank President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio for their involvement, their contribution, and for achieving these understandings. I thank the government of Lebanon and the people of Lebanon; they showed great courage. I thank Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, and our team, they faithfully represented Israel in the talks."
He emphasized, "We are breaking the Iranian axis of terror, but we are also breaking the Iranian diplomatic axis."
"We managed to reach this framework of understandings for a simple reason: Because we struck Hezbollah hard. And Hezbollah, which expected assistance from Iran, did not receive it, because we struck Iran hard. All of this was done thanks to the heroism of our fighters, and also thanks to the wise and courageous decisions we made."
Netanyahu added, "We took control of the Beaufort and we are staying in the Beaufort; we took control of the Ali Taher ridge, and of Bint Jbeil - they are under our control. We are eliminating their terrorist infrastructure throughout the entire area, in the entire Yellow Zone; we are simply wiping out the terrorist infrastructure. There are bunkers there, there are tunnels there, there are terrorist villages there; we are wiping the, all out. We are not done yet, we still have work to do, especially regarding the global problem of explosive drones, and in this too, we will be the first in the world to find a solution."
"But what is clear is one thing: There is a historic achievement here. This agreement strengthens Israel and Lebanon, and weakens Iran and Hezbollah. And G-d willing, this is a sign of things to come.
"We will continue to do everything necessary to restore security to the residents of the North, just as we successfully did in the South. We did it once again thanks to the heroism of the fighters and commanders, and also thanks to your steadfast resilience, residents of the North. We are bringing you not only security assistance, but also over 20 billion shekels to restore prosperity to the North."
"This is what I want to see: A quiet border between us and Lebanon, a border of peace. And in the North, I want to see security, peace, and prosperity. What happened in the South, which is currently prospering in the western Negev, will also happen in the North. This is my goal, and with your help and G-d's help, we will achieve it."
Asked about the upcoming elections, Netanyahu said his goal is to establish a broad national unity government.
"I believe there are forces within our society that want to create division among the people," he said. "They want to deepen misunderstandings and disagreements, and I think that is a terrible mistake. We must make every effort to resolve our internal disputes through consensus, because we have enemies outside. I say this clearly: There will not be a civil war here."
"To achieve that, I intend to form a broad national government - not a narrow one, and not a left-wing government that will be dependent on Arab parties. Rather, a broad national government, because I think that is the only way that we can reach agreements among ourselves.
"What does that mean? It means an end to political boycotts. I am not boycotting anyone. Everyone is welcome to join, they simply need to agree on our fundamental principles."