BEIRUT — Lebanon and Israel, under US sponsorship, have signed an agreement hoping to end hostilities, but experts warn it does not guarantee Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and its implementation depends on Hezbollah and its backer Iran.
Lebanon took the historic step of negotiating directly with Israel despite having no diplomatic relations, after Tehran-backed Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war.
But, with Israel saying it will not leave occupied Lebanese territory unless the militant group is disarmed, what traps and challenges lie ahead for the agreement?
Although the framework agreement mentions a Israeli “redeployment” from Lebanon,Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately said soldiers will remain in a self-declared “security zone” stretching 10 kilometres from the border, “as long as Hezbollah has not disarmed”.
“Yesterday... we achieved a historic deal for the state of Israel after direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in a televised briefing on the deal. “This is a blow to Iran and Hezbollah.”
Imad Salamey, head of the Political and International Studies Department at the Lebanese American University, told AFP that one of the agreement’s shortcomings was that it made “no guarantee that Israel will fully withdraw from occupied areas or significantly restrict its military operations in southern Lebanon”.
“Without firm Israeli commitments, many residents of the south may continue to face insecurity, delayed reconstruction.”
Netanyahu said Friday that displaced Lebanese civilians will not be allowed to return home to occupied areas.
The agreement merely mentions “pilot zones”, where the Lebanese military will take control after an Israeli “redeployment”.
An initial two zones have been agreed upon, and future pilots are to be determined by mutual consent.
However, the Lebanese army would only assume full security responsibility for these zones upon external “confirmation” that non-state armed groups, most notably Hezbollah, are disarmed there.
