President Aoun insists on not handing over a single inch of Lebanese territory to Israel

Israeli attack on Lebanon March 2026. (Wikimedia Commons/IDF Spokesperson's Unit photographer)

JAKARTA - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday defended negotiations with Israel, saying it was not a betrayal and he would not give up "even an inch of Lebanese territory," according to the Presidential Office.

Lebanon last week signed a US-backed framework agreement with Israel aimed at securing peace between the two countries, a move that has been met with massive protests from Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Negotiations with Israel are not "treason but a diplomatic war without unnecessary bloodshed," President Aoun said on Thursday, launching Al Arabiya from AFP (2/7).

President Aoun said Lebanon had decided to engage in talks "to guarantee Israel's withdrawal from its territory."

"We will not surrender an inch of Lebanese territory," President Aoun said.

Lebanon's latest conflict with Israel erupted on March 2, when Hezbollah launched missiles into Israel in response to a US-Israeli attack that killed Iran's top leader.

Israel responded with air raids and ground invasions that have killed more than 4,200 people in Lebanon, according to authorities.

The signed framework agreement envisages the Lebanese army gradually establishing its authority over southern Lebanon along with the disarmament of Hezbollah and Israel's withdrawal, but does not set a time frame for this.

The process will be detailed in a security annex, the contents of which have not been made public.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a visit to the so-called "security zone" in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, reiterated that Israeli forces would remain there as long as Hezbollah remained a threat.

In turn, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the Israeli army would remain "until further notice" in what it calls "security zones" in Lebanon, Syria, and the Gaza Strip.