BEIRUT/BEIRUT – Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Friday called for an expansion of pilot areas in southern Lebanon and a clear timetable for Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territory, local media reported.

Salam made the remarks during a meeting with US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and US General Joseph Clearfield, head of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon, and an accompanying military delegation, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA).

The meeting focused on the military aspect of the negotiating framework and the latest developments in southern Lebanon.

Salam stressed the need for Israel to halt its destructive operations, expand the scope of the pilot areas and set a clear timetable for its withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

In a separate meeting with Clearfield, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri discussed the situation on the ground, the group's work following the identification of pilot areas, and mechanisms for verifying an Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army, the NNA said.

Earlier this month, Israeli and Lebanese officials finished three days of negotiations in Rome aimed at advancing security arrangements along their border and implementing a framework agreement reached in Washington in late June, local media reported.

The talks, opposed by Hezbollah, are the seventh round of negotiations between the two governments.  

Hezbollah rejects framework agreement

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Friday rejected the US-mediated framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, describing it as an Israeli-imposed arrangement.

“The framework agreement is Israeli dictates written with Israeli ink and signed by the Lebanese authorities," Qassem said in a televised speech on local Al-Manar TV, adding that Hezbollah would continue its resistance.

He accused the United States of enabling Israel's military actions in Lebanon, saying Israel could not have waged such aggression without US backing.

Qassem also criticized the Lebanese authorities over their handling of the negotiations, claiming the Lebanese side had been subordinate to the US and Israeli sides during discussions on the framework agreement.

The Lebanon-Israel framework agreement, signed in late June under US mediation, aims to advance a lasting security arrangement between the two countries and lay the groundwork for a broader peace process.