Negotiations Under Threats: Israel Again Threatens to Expand Control

The Lebanese Army Command responded to Israeli claims about the operations of its units south of the Litani, asserting that Israel obstructed the emptying of a military facility in Kfarra and threatened to shell it before the mission was completed on October 16. Coinciding with Lebanese-Israeli military negotiations in Tampa on October 20-21, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz escalated his threats, announcing that Israel would maintain a security zone inside Lebanese territory covering 700 square kilometers and was ready to expand it toward Nabatieh and the Litani, conditioning withdrawal on Hezbollah's disarmament, and speaking of displacing 200,000 people and destroying more than 60 villages and 23,000 homes. Fears are growing of a regional escalation before the U.S. and Israeli elections, and of a security vacuum after UNIFIL's mandate ends, as the Security Council discusses the report on Resolution 1559.