Israel says has US green light to keep its troops on 5 Lebanese hills

Israel has “received a U.S. green light” to keep its forces on five strategic hills in south Lebanon near Israel’s border, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday.

"There is a buffer zone (on the border with Lebanon), it wasn't easy but I stood my ground, and we received a green light from the United States, we gave them a map, and we are staying indefinitely -- this is situation-dependent, not time-dependent," Katz said at a conference, according to a statement issued by his office.