France urges Israel to respect ceasefire deal, withdraw from 5 'strategic hills'

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called Israel to respect a November ceasefire and withdraw from all Lebanese territories, including five "strategic hills" where Israeli troops remain past their withdrawal deadline.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that Israel has received a U.S. green light to "indefinitely" keep its forces on five strategic hills in south Lebanon.

"We received a green light from the United States and we are staying indefinitely -- this is situation-dependent, not time-dependent," Katz said at a conference.

Anne-Marie Descôtes, Secretary General of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, confirmed Thursday that efforts were ongoing to achieve Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Descôtes met Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and highlighted France's efforts to achieve Israel’s withdrawal from the five points and the full implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.

Descôtes also stressed the importance of the role of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese Army in southern Lebanon and reiterated France's will to organize an international aid conference for Lebanon, once the Lebanese government starts implementing reforms demanded by international creditors in return for a desperately needed financial bailout.