Lebanon's deal with Israel requires Hezbollah to disarm. That might be difficult
BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah’s leader on Saturday criticized a framework agreement that Israel and Lebanon signed a day earlier to end months of conflict between the Iran-backed militant group and Israel, raising concerns about its effectiveness.
The agreement signed Friday in Washington links Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon to Hezbollah's disarmament, something the group rejects.
Several previous ceasefire agreements that Lebanon has negotiated with Israel since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war were never implemented on the ground. More than 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since March, when Hezbollah fired at Israel two days after the Iran war began.
In a statement Saturday, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said his group will keep fighting until Israel is forced to leave Lebanon. The group's supporters protested in the streets of Beirut following the announcement of the agreement.
Despite the deal, the Lebanese state news agency reported an Israeli drone strike near the southern city of Nabatiyeh. It also reported that Israel's military released three Lebanese and three Syrian workers who were taken near the southern village of Ain Arab on Friday.
The talks between Israel and Lebanon were separate from the interim deal signed earlier this month by the U.S. and Iran.
Details of the deal that the U.S. State Department released Saturday say Lebanon and Israel aim to eventually end the state of war between them that began when Israel was created in 1948.
The deal says Israel will withdraw from Lebanon, provided Hezbollah disarms.
It calls for Israel to initially withdraw from two small areas, called pilot zones. It did not say where they will be. The Lebanese army will gradually assume full security responsibility over those areas. The countries will agree to future pilot zones for Israel's withdrawal in the future, the agreement says.
The deal has a security annex that includes details of the deployment of the Lebanese army and redeployments of Israeli troops. The security annex was not made public.
As part of the deal, Israel stresses that Hezbollah's disarmament throughout Lebanon and additional security measures to be agreed upon between the countries will eliminate any future need for the Israeli army’s military action or presence in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement said Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon “until Hezbollah and the rest of the terrorist organizations are disarmed, and until no further threat to Israel is posed from Lebanon.”
Netanyahu said the two agreed-upon zones will have a “pilot program for disarming Hezbollah and transferring the territory to the control of the Lebanese army.” He said Israel's military already withdrew from one.
Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military has been instructed “to prepare for an extended stay.”
From Hezbollah’s point of view, the deal is nonexistent, Kassem said.
He called the agreement a “humiliation,” adding that linking Israel’s withdrawal to Hezbollah’s disarmament as a “very dangerous suggestion.”
The deal prompted one of the group’s officials, Hassan Fadlallah, to warn that it could result in civil war because Hezbollah won't give up its weapons and will resist any measures taken by the Lebanese army.
Judge Ahmed Rami al-Hajj, Lebanon's top public prosecutor, on Saturday told the heads of the country’s security agencies to take measures to prevent riots.
The deal says both Lebanon and Israel recognize that the restoration of security in southern Lebanon through the deployment of the Lebanese army, the safe return of its civilian population and the security of Israel’s northern communities are essential to long-term stability and peace.
“Personally, I don’t think it will be lasting because the Lebanese military cannot really stand a chance against Hezbollah,” said Israeli citizen Ronit Belson while visiting the town of Metula along the border.
In Lebanon, people were divided.
“People just want to rest for good. I support the Lebanese authorities in the decision” taken, said Rabie Sammour, a resident of the southern city of Sidon.
Another Sidon resident, Khaled Ghannoum, said the deal “legitimized Israel’s occupation.”
In an apparent reference to Iran, which has sent billions of dollars in cash to Hezbollah over the past four decades, the deal says Lebanon and the U.S. commit to preventing funds from flowing to any entity, organization or individual affiliated with non-state armed groups.
The deal states that the Lebanese government explicitly commits to prevent reconstruction funds from flowing to non-state armed groups and connected entities.
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Mor reported from Metula, Israel. Associated Press journalist Ibrahim Hazboun contributed to this report from Jerusalem.
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