Katz: Ali Taher takeover cements Israeli control over south Lebanon ‘security zone’

Defense Minister Israel Katz hails the recent operation to take over Ali Taher as a key step to cementing the IDF’s presence in southern Lebanon, vowing not to withdraw until Hezbollah has been completely disarmed.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are leading a clear and uncompromising policy, reinforced every day by the IDF: Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout Lebanon and the threats to the residents of the Galilee are removed,” he says in a statement.

“The capture of Ali Taher is an important step toward achieving this goal,” adds Katz, referring to yesterday’s announcement that the IDF had taken control over the key ridge in southern Lebanon.

Katz says the operation “marks the completion of the phase of establishing control over the security zone in southern Lebanon.”

He says the decision to take control of Ali Taher was made “following intelligence obtained about the presence of Hezbollah command-and-control tunnels there… serving as the last commanding outpost for defending the Nabatieh area.”