Lebanon’s prime minister on Wednesday visited a battered southern village that was vacated by Israeli troops, planting a Lebanese flag at the scene and declaring that it marked the beginning of a complete Israeli withdrawal

Nawaf Salam’s appearance in Zawtar Al-Gharbiya came a day after President Joseph Aoun’s landmark White House meeting with US President Donald Trump, who promised to back the Lebanese government in its bid to claim state control across the country.

Lebanon and Israel in late June signed an agreement that called for the Lebanese military to deploy in areas in southern Lebanon where the Hezbollah terror group had a military presence and influence, and for Israel to withdraw from its declared security zone after having occupied dozens of villages.

Both sides later agreed on a pilot zone made up of a series of villages to test the implementation of the agreement. While Israeli troops have struck and conducted ground operations in those areas, they have not occupied them, but the Lebanese army has also not been there in large numbers.

The latest war between Israel and Hezbollah started March 2, after the Lebanese terror group fired rockets into Israel in to support Iran, its main backer. In response, Israel launched an aerial campaign and ground invasion in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s top political leadership criticized Hezbollah for dragging the country into another war, but also condemned Israel for its strikes and ground invasion.

Salam, alongside Lebanon’s defense minister and senior military officials, pitched a Lebanese flag near a destroyed building in the town, vowing the government will start rebuilding destroyed homes and infrastructure.

“We have insisted since the beginning that our goal is the complete........

© The Times of Israel