Lebanese army troops began deploying in the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh Tuesday after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) said in a statement, in line with a US-brokered plan for “pilot zones” in the south.

The LAF statement was referring to the initial pullout by the Israel Defense Forces units laid out as part of the plan, which envisions Lebanese army troops confiscating weapons from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah terror group in parts of southern Lebanon and phased withdrawals of Israeli troops, who are eventually meant to leave Lebanon.

The Israeli military said a day earlier that the plan, dubbed the pilot zone program, has begun, but did not immediately confirm Tuesday it has withdrawn forces from any areas in south Lebanon.

The handover of territory is the first test of the pilot, which Lebanon hopes will enable it to restore control over a strip of land about 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep into the country that remains occupied by Israeli troops in a self-declared “security zone.”

Dozens of villages have been razed in that area, and public infrastructure has been destroyed, including hospitals, power stations and water pumps, amid fighting with Hezbollah. Tens of thousands of Lebanese who call the area home have been unable to return.

The Lebanese army said its units began deploying in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh in the Nabatieh region.

The army renewed a call for residents “not to head to the town until the security situation stabilizes, and to comply with the instructions of the deployed military units to ensure their safety.”

“The pilot serves as a test of the Lebanese Armed Forces’ sovereignty in the three pilot villages, as the sole official authority authorized to bear arms in the area,” an Israeli military official said on Monday after the US had announced the deployment of the LAF to some areas.

Aside from Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, the areas of Froun and Srifa are also part of the pilot. The pilot zones are intended to try out the approach in a handful of villages straddling the Litani River before it is extended to other areas.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun was due later on Tuesday to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington to present a plan on how to disarm Hezbollah and secure Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.

A Lebanese official said Aoun believes only Trump possesses the leverage needed to pressure Israel to withdraw its troops and help Lebanon restore its sovereignty. The official said that Aoun, in addition to asking the US........

© The Times of Israel