Lebanese and Israeli delegations’ talks in Washington D.C. will continue to discuss a memorandum of understanding on security, which is scheduled to be signed on Friday, a US State Department source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The US-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon, which were supposed to end on Thursday, will continue for another day. The fifth round will resume on Friday morning, the source said.

The source added that the US supports progress in resolving the conflict in southern Lebanon.

Earlier, Al Hadath television reported that Israel, as a gesture of goodwill, may withdraw its troops from one or two occupied areas of southern Lebanon. At the suggestion of American mediators, it is planned to create a test zone there, which will be occupied by units of the Lebanese army.

During the test, the Lebanese military must demonstrate its ability to keep the situation under control and resist possible infiltration by the Hezbollah movement—whose fighters must completely leave the area south of the Litani River.