Following the announcement of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Israel will not withdraw from any territory it has seized.

Israel is not subordinate to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign state, said Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister. We must not withdraw from any territory that our fighters have occupied and cleared of terrorist infrastructure.

Israel’s Stance on Territory

Katz emphasized that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are leading a clear policy under which the Israel Defense Forces will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza indefinitely. The area will be cleared of local residents and all terrorist infrastructure, above and below ground — including the houses in the contact villages that served as terrorist outposts — will be destroyed.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.