Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says IDF will maintain long-term presence in Lebanon and will not withdraw from “one millimeter” even if the US demands it.By World Israel News StaffFinance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel will keep troops inside southern Lebanon for years and will not withdraw until Hezbollah is disarmed, even if Washington demands it, in remarks underscoring growing Israeli resistance to diplomatic pressure over the northern front.In an interview with the Makor Rishon newspaper published over the weekend, Smotrich said he did not believe the US would make such a demand because “they understand our red lines.”Asked whether the IDF would remain in Lebanon for years, Smotrich replied: “Yes, and I say this as someone who is currently holding negotiations over the management of the defense budget for the next decade.”He also backed the establishment of permanent Israeli military infrastructure inside the security zone Israel is holding in southern Lebanon.Asked whether Israel should build army posts and full bases there, Smotrich said: “Everything, definitely. We are there until Hezbollah disarms, and I think also beyond that, because we need defendable borders.”Smotrich argued that the modern border between Israel and Lebanon was shaped by the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement and did not adequately reflect the area’s terrain or Israel’s security needs.“But of course, until Hezbollah disarms, we aren’t moving a millimeter,” he said. “This is the stance of the prime minister and the defense minister, and mine too, and we are determined to stick to it.”The remarks came amid renewed fighting and fragile diplomacy over Lebanon, where Israel has held a self-declared security zone in the south during its campaign against Hezbollah.US-led efforts in recent weeks have sought to halt the fighting and shift parts of southern Lebanon to Lebanese Armed Forces control, but Israeli officials have repeatedly said they will not leave positions they view as necessary to protect northern communities.Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier this month that Israel would keep troops in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza “without any time limit.”“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I are leading a clear policy that determines that the IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, without any time limit, to protect the border and Israeli communities from there against jihadist elements,” Katz said.A senior White House source told Walla that an IDF withdrawal from Lebanon was not part of the deal.The issue has become one of the main flashpoints in regional diplomacy.Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said after the US-Iran agreement that “both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”But Israeli officials have insisted that any limitation on Israeli operations in Lebanon cannot come at the expense of Israel’s security control along the border.The dispute sharpened after Israeli strikes in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district shortly before the US-Iran deal was finalized. Netanyahu and Katz said the strikes came in response to Hezbollah fire.“Israel will not tolerate fire directed at its territory,” they said in a joint statement.President Donald Trump criticized the timing of the strikes, writing on Truth Social: “This morning’s attacks should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran.”Trump said Israel had the right to “defend itself against threats,” but called the threat in that case “very small and meaningless.”The post Minister says Israel to remain in Lebanon for years – regardless of US demands appeared first on World Israel News.