By Nandita Bose, Maya Gebeily and Tom Perry WASHINGTON/BEIRUT, July 21 (Reuters) - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday that a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory was essential to consolidating stability and enabling the state to extend its authority,

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will meet with Donald Trump on Tuesday to discuss the Hezbollah deal.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says his goal is to end ‘state of hostility between Lebanon and Israel forever’.

The U.S. State Department announced Monday that operations in three villages deemed part of a “pilot zone” had begun, expected to see Lebanese army troops confiscating Hezbollah’s weapons and phased withdrawals of Israeli troops.

Israeli troops have withdrawn from parts of southern Lebanon under a US-mediated ceasefire agreement, which aims to keep Iran-backed Hezbollah away from the Israeli border and end nearly five months of conflict.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will meet with Trump on Tuesday at the White House, the first US visit by a Lebanese head of state in nearly 20 years, as the two seek to advance a US-brokered plan to disarm Hezbollah and secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Lebanon and Israel reaching an agreement after two days on a process to be finalized for implementing the first pilot zones in southern Lebanon.

BEIRUT, July 22 (Reuters) - Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold their next round of U.S.-brokered talks on August 4 in Italy, a Lebanese official told Reuters on Wednesday, as the two countries begin implementing a plan for Israeli withdrawals and Lebanese army deployments in southern Lebanon.

A United Nations committee has inscribed a major archaeological site in the West Bank and a set of castles in southern Lebanon as World Heritage sites.

But in another part of the Middle East, the chances of a more peaceful outcome can improve after US President Donald Trump welcomed at the White House on July 21 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun for discussions about a withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of Lebanon they currently occupy.