Lebanese villagers feel 'betrayed' as IDF withdrawal begins but return home is blocked

Residents of the war-ravaged southern Lebanese village of Zawtar El Gharbiyeh say they feel “betrayed” by their government after being prevented from returning home despite the start of the IDF’s phased withdrawal, RT correspondent Steve Sweeney reports.

The criticism comes as Beirut and West Jerusalem begin implementing a US-brokered agreement for an IDF pullout from several so-called ‘pilot zones’ near the Yellow Line, Israel’s self-declared buffer zone in southern Lebanon. Israel has insisted that the withdrawal is contingent on Hezbollah disarming in those areas, a condition the militant group has rejected.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam visited Zawtar El Gharbiyeh – which lies on the Yellow Line – on Wednesday, raising the national flag and declaring a Lebanese return to the devastated village.

Residents camped outside, however, say they have remained blocked from returning to what is left of their homes.

“We felt betrayed. We are the rightful owners of this land, and we are the ones who have sacrificed and given so much to it. We are the ones who should be entering the village and planting the Lebanese flag,” one woman told RT.

Mayor Abed Ezzedine said that local authorities had received little information about the withdrawal and that residents were still being denied access.

“If things stay as they are, it means Israel will remain there for a long time,” he said.

Meanwhile, all three of the ‘pilot zones’ selected by Israel remain close to strategically important high ground that the IDF has so far failed to seize from Hezbollah, Sweeney noted.