Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a ceasefire, announces a tripartite statement from both governments and the United States Department of State. The cessation of hostilities is conditional on the radical Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah “completely ceasing its fire” and withdrawing its operatives from the south of the Litani River. If it becomes a reality, the pact opens a door to relaunch the companies.
The State Department specifies that the agreement was closed during the fourth round of negotiations held between the two governments in Washington, yesterday Tuesday and this Wednesday, at the height of the stalemate in negotiations between the United States and Iran after Israel expanded its offensive in Lebanon to take it to the southern suburbs of Beirut. Tehran conditioned any progress in those talks on a .
“The two parties have agreed, under the recommendation of the United States, to quickly launch the creation of pilot zones in which the Lebanese armed forces will have absolute control of the territory to exclude all non-state actors,” in reference to Hezbollah, the joint statement explains. “These steps will allow progress towards a definitive peace and security agreement.”
Israel and Lebanon had already agreed to a ceasefire last month, after Israel invaded Lebanon in March to punish Hezbollah, which had opened fire on Israeli territory in support of Iran, its main sponsor. That original truce failed almost from the first moment, due to the refusal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – not eager for Washington and Tehran to reach a peace agreement – to continue invading Lebanese territory.
But the Israeli order to evacuate the Shiite suburbs of Beirut and the threat of bombing pushed Iran to announce the suspension of negotiations with the United States. And they exhausted the patience of Donald Trump eager to reach an agreement with Tehran. That day there were two calls between the American president and the Israeli prime minister, in one of which, very heated, the Republican even called his interlocutor “fucking crazy,” among a wide range of outbursts. After those exchanges, the American president announced that Israel would not attack Beirut or its surroundings and Hezbollah would also refrain from opening fire. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran would continue “at full speed,” he maintained. But, despite his words, Israel and Hezbollah resumed their crossfire a few hours later.
This Wednesday, Lebanon reported that Israeli drones had killed at least six people in the south of its territory. Israel, for its part, maintained that it had intercepted a hostile device probably launched by Hezbollah.
With the agreement announced this Wednesday in Washington, Israel and Lebanon have also agreed to expand their direct negotiations to build trust and resolve other pending issues between both countries. The two governments will meet in the week of June 22 to try to “reach a definitive agreement,” the statement said. The United States will continue to “facilitate communication between both parties in the meantime,” he adds.
