Israel and Lebanon have reached a framework agreement aimed at “lasting peace and security” between the two countries. This was announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday after negotiations in Washington. The deal will allow the Israeli army to begin withdrawing from parts of southern Lebanon, The Times of Israel reported. TASR informs about it according to the CNBC station and the Reuters agency.
- Israel and Lebanon have concluded a framework agreement on lasting peace and security.
- The agreement makes the ceasefire conditional on the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters from southern Lebanon.
- Pilot security zones will be established in southern Lebanon under the control of the Lebanese army.
- Israel will keep the army in the buffer zone until Hezbollah is disarmed.
- Hezbollah does not recognize the agreement and Israel continues to attack Lebanon.
The agreement, which emerged from US-brokered talks, calls for the implementation of a cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon. The ceasefire is conditional on the pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah stopping attacks on Israel and withdrawing all its members from southern Lebanon.
Pilot safety zones
The two sides agreed in Washington that pilot security zones would be created as soon as possible, in which the Lebanese army would take exclusive control of the territory and push out “all non-state actors” from there.
“These steps will enable progress toward a comprehensive peace and security agreement,” the US State Department said in a statement. The Lebanese side described the framework agreement as the first step towards the restoration of Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity and a permanent end to the fighting.
Netanyahu’s statement
In a pre-recorded video, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted the achievement of an agreement that, according to him, will allow the Israeli army to remain in the so-called buffer zone in Lebanon until Hezbollah disarms and “as long as there is a threat to the State of Israel.”
According to Netanyahu, two pilot zones will be created: one south of the Lítání River and one north of it. This is a small area that the Israeli army took control of in the last two weeks, but they say they don’t need it. Netanyahu stated that Israel will not yet allow Lebanese displaced from the so-called security zone in the south of their country to return home.
Hezbollah’s position
As the CNBC website writes, Hezbollah is not a party to Friday’s agreement and has long refused negotiations with Israel. It is not clear whether the movement will abide by the ceasefire.
An official cease-fire has been in effect between Israel and Lebanon since April 17. Despite this, Israel continues to attack Lebanon, claiming it is targeting Hezbollah targets.
