After the US announced a three-week truce between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that efforts have started to achieve “historic peace” between the two countries. However, he also accused Hezbollah of trying to disrupt the process.
The Israeli Prime Minister also said that he held a conversation with US President Donald Trump, who continues to apply “strong pressure” on Iran and that full cooperation continues between Israel and the United States.
He made the remarks in Hebrew, which were shared by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Netanyahu said, “I promised you that we would change the face of the Middle East, and that is exactly what we are doing. First and foremost, on Iran: I have had an excellent conversation with President Trump. He is applying very strong pressure on Iran, both economically and militarily. We are operating in full cooperation.”
On Lebanon, he said, “The same applies to Lebanon: We have begun a process to achieve a historic peace between Israel and Lebanon, and it is clear to us that Hezbollah is trying to sabotage this.”
“We are maintaining full freedom of action against any threat, including emerging ones. We attacked yesterday and we attacked today. We are determined to restore security to the residents of the North”, he added.
Times of Israel reported that these are Netanyahu’s first public remarks since the announcement of a three-week extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, after Trump’s announcement.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) said that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend their ceasefire by an additional three weeks, following talks with senior officials from both sides.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, “We had a great meeting with the very high officials of Lebanon and the very high officials of Israel, and I think that the president of Lebanon and the prime minister of Israel, over the next couple of weeks, will be coming here.”
“They’ve agreed to an additional three weeks of, I guess, no firing — ceasefire — no more firing. Let’s see. We hope that happens. It’s not going to happen between them, but we still have Hezbollah to think about,” he said.
Earlier, in a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon would be extended by three weeks, adding that the United States would work with Lebanon to help it protect itself from Hezbollah.
Further, US Vice President JD Vance described the extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire by three weeks as a significant and historic step, crediting President Donald Trump’s direct involvement for making the agreement possible.
“I think this is a major, historic moment. We’re going to extend the ceasefire for three weeks; that’s already in place between Israel and Lebanon. Of course, it would not have happened without the President’s direct engagement,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that President Trump’s direct involvement helped secure the extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, adding that the move provides more time to work towards a lasting peace between the two countries. (ANI)
(Inputs from ANI)
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