Defense Minister Yisrael Katz on Thursday morning responded to President Donald Trump’s statement in Ankara on Wednesday that he believes Israel will withdraw its forces from Lebanon as part of the Israel-Lebanon agreement signed in Washington.

“We did not ask any party for permission to enter Lebanon, and we do not need permission to remain in Lebanon,” Katz said.

“It is our right and our duty to protect the residents of the Galil and Israeli citizens from threats posed by the Hezbollah jihadist terrorist organization, which seeks to destroy the State of Israel,” Katz asserted. “As Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and I have made clear, we will continue to remain in the security zone in Lebanon and operate from there as long as necessary until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout Lebanon and the threat to the residents of the north is removed.”

“We promised security to the residents of the north, and that is what we have delivered and will continue to deliver,” Katz concluded.

Trump was asked yesterday on the sidelines of the NATO summit whether he believes Israel should withdraw IDF troops from southern Lebanon. He replied: “I talked to Bibi about that. I think they want to. They’re getting along with Lebanon. They’re signing agreements with Lebanon for the first time ever.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio added: “We have an agreement. That’s ultimately the goal. Of course, Israel is concerned about its security, but the President has done a tremendous job bringing these two countries closer together.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)