The U.S. State Department announced Monday that implementation of the pilot zones has begun in three southern Lebanon villages — Froun, Srifa and Zawtar al-Gharbiya — under the framework agreement and under the auspices of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon.

The State Department described the development as a “milestone” resulting directly from last week’s talks in Rome between representatives of Israel and Lebanon. Washington said it would continue working closely with both sides to achieve the agreement’s full and successful implementation.

The pilot is intended to test the implementation of the understandings on the ground and represents the first stage of the process agreed upon by the two sides through U.S. mediation.

A senior American official said last week that the closed-door talks held in Rome on July 14 and 15 would mark a transition to the implementation phase of the framework. The discussions were intended to allow the governments to transfer responsibility to professional teams that would work on all the issues detailed in the agreement.

The official said the first pilot zone was expected to begin within days and that additional pilot zones were already being planned and mapped. CENTCOM is coordinating further progress with both countries.

The official added that the United States would soon approach international partners to help the Lebanese government effectively restore its sovereignty in those areas and, later, throughout the country.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)