By Maayan Lubell and Maya Gebeily
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Israel won't withdraw from southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed, the defence minister said on Thursday, qualifying remarks he made a day earlier that had suggested Israeli forces would occupy the territory indefinitely and drew U.S. criticism.
Israel seized a swath of south Lebanon during a war with Hezbollah earlier this year and has said it will keep forces there to shield northern Israel from attack by the Iran-backed group, which ignited the latest hostilities when it opened fire at Israel two days into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Israel's offensive uprooted hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, most of them members of Hezbollah's Shi'ite Muslim constituency.
During a visit to southern Lebanon on Wednesday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been "unequivocally clear" that "we are not withdrawing from this security zone", adding, "we will cleanse this area and ensure the security of the northern residents".
Following his statement, a U.S. State Department official said a permanent Israeli military presence in south Lebanon was not consistent with commitments set out in Israel's U.S.-backed deal with Lebanon's government.
The deal foresees a progressive Israeli withdrawal linked to the verified disarmament of the group.
"The United States expects all parties to act in a manner consistent with the Framework they agreed to, and Israel clearly stated that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon," the U.S. official said in written remarks distributed to journalists.
Hezbollah, founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, strongly opposes Beirut's talks with Israel and has ruled out any discussion of its weapons before an Israeli withdrawal.
KATZ ORDERS PREPARATIONS FOR 'EXTENDED PRESENCE'
On Thursday, Katz said Israel would "not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon as long as Hezbollah is not disarmed and the threat of Hezbollah in all of Lebanon is not removed".
"I have instructed the IDF to prepare for an extended presence in the area to protect the combat forces and the communities, until this goal is fully achieved," Katz added in a ceremony marking an Israeli settlement establishment in the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu's Likud party, to which Katz belongs, is looking to bolster its security credentials among voters ahead of an election on October 27 — Israel's first since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks.
Katz's statement echoed recent remarks by Netanyahu on Gaza and Hamas. On Sunday, Netanyahu said that U.S. President Donald Trump's latest Gaza roadmap was "unacceptable" and that Israel would not withdraw before Hamas is disarmed.
The U.S.-brokered deal between Lebanon and Israel leaves Israeli troops inside Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed and the Lebanese military takes control of the south, a process involving "pilot zones".
The U.S. State Department official said the Lebanese military was implementing the first pilot zones and Washington "will continue to support full implementation of that process".
Beirut resident Hussam Mneimeh said Israel "cannot remain occupiers".
"There have been previous experiences ... they occupied Lebanon and then withdrew in one way or another, whether through political negotiation or through war," he said.
(Additional reporting by Ahmed Kerdi in Beirut; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
