Lebanon president says Israeli withdrawal ‘non-negotiable’

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday said Israel’s withdrawal from the country’s south was a “non-negotiable” demand that authorities would pursue through negotiations, days ahead of a new round of talks in Washington.In a statement commemorating Israel’s previous withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000 after some two decades of occupation, Aoun said that “this year, the anniversary of the liberation comes as Lebanon is weighed down by a painful reality.”“Israeli attacks have not stopped and our dear southern villages are still suffering under a renewed occupation,” he said.Israeli troops who invaded Lebanon during the latest war with Hezbollah began on March 2 are operating inside a self-declared “yellow line” running around 10 kilometers (six miles) deep inside Lebanese territory.Israel’s military has also been conducting heavy strikes well beyond that area despite a ceasefire supposed to be in force since April 17.“Lebanon will not accept this reality,” Aoun said.“The path to a

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