Lebanese Druze leader Walid Joumblatt has said he believes Israel will stay in southern Lebanon for decades, in an interview with The National.
Speaking from Beirut, he argued that the United States is pulling back from the region, leaving Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, free to expand Israeli control. He said the scale of destruction in the south looked like preparation for settlement.
The interview follows Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz's statement on 21 October that Israel would not withdraw from the security zones it holds in southern Lebanon, southern Syria and much of Gaza. Israeli officials say their troops have destroyed more than 60 villages in southern Lebanon, and Lebanon's Health Ministry says 4,389 people were killed between 2 March, when Hezbollah joined the regional war, and 12 October.
Source: The National
