Netanyahu’s office said that the decision came following a meeting held earlier in the day in the Lebanese border town of Naqoura that included representatives of the Israeli army, the United States, France and Lebanon [GETTY]
Israel said on Tuesday that it had agreed to release five Lebanese citizens detained during its war on Lebanon as a goodwill gesture to the neighbouring country’s new president.
“In coordination with the United States and as a gesture to Lebanon’s new president, Israel has agreed to release five Lebanese detainees,” a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu’s office said that the decision came following a meeting held earlier in the day in the Lebanese border town of Naqoura that included representatives of the Israeli army, the United States, France and Lebanon.
“During the meeting, it was agreed to establish three joint working groups aimed at stabilising the region,” the prime minister’s statement said.
“These groups will focus on the five points controlled by Israel in southern Lebanon, discussions on the Blue Line and remaining disputed areas, and the issue of Lebanese detainees held by Israel.”
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to open negotiations to resolve disputes over the land border between the countries, Axios reported on Tuesday citing an unidentified US official.
The American official said Israel released five Lebanese captured by its military forces during fighting last year as part of the understanding between the parties, the report said.Â
The Blue Line is the UN-patrolled demarcation line that has marked the Israel-Lebanon border since 2000.
In an interview to Lebanese news channel Al Jadeed, US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said the five Lebanese prisoners were a mix of civilians and soldiers.
“I’ll let the government of Lebanon make the announcement of who is in the mix. But there are some soldiers and civilians in the mix of five,” she said.
On 27 November, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-French mediated truce that largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of full-blown war in which Israel sent in ground troops.
While the ceasefire continues to hold, Israel has periodically carried out air strikes on Lebanese territory, it says to prevent Hezbollah from rearming or returning to the territory along its northern border.
On Saturday, the military targeted a Hezbollah member with an airstrike in southern Lebanon. Lebanese media reported one killed and another wounded in what it said was an Israeli drone strike on a car.
The ceasefire required Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Israel had been due to withdraw completely from Lebanese territory by 18 February after missing a January deadline, but decided to keep troops at five locations it deemed strategic.
