Israel and Lebanon on Friday welcomed a new agreement signed with the United States, calling it a step towards peace along their shared border. The deal was signed in Washington, where US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that it creates a plan for lasting peace and security.
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Reacting to the development, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also praised the agreement, saying that it marked a victory against Iran.
“Iran has been trying to force us to withdraw from southern Lebanon through pressure, but in effect Israel, Lebanon, and the United States are telling them: this is none of your business,” Netanyahu said. “You have no role in Lebanon — not you, not Hezbollah and not any terrorist organisation.”
But Iran-backed Hezbollah criticised the deal, warning that it could affect efforts to solve the wider conflict in the Middle East. Iran has also argued that Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon is linked to the wider regional war and should be included in any final peace agreement, Agence France Presse reported.
What Is The US-Israel-Lebanon Deal?
Netanyahu said that under the agreement, the Lebanese army will return to two “pilot areas” in southern Lebanon to start taking control. He added that Israeli forces will stay in a security zone it has seized until Hezbollah is disarmed.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun also supported the framework, calling it a first step for civilians to return home “under the sovereignty of the Lebanese state that has no partner in its sovereignty over its land and people.”
“We swear to continue to work until this is fully achieved. There will be no more occupation, prisoners, subordination or tutelage,” he added. The whole text of the agreement was not immediately made available to the media.
Why Is Hezbollah Warning Of ‘Civil War’?
Hezbollah has warned that the new agreement could block efforts to solve the wider conflict. Tehran also agrees that the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is part of the larger regional war and should be included in any final deal between the US and Iran.
On the development, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah told AFP that the Washington agreement could weaken a ceasefire understanding linked to Iran talks. This is mainly because these talks foresaw that the Lebanese conflict would be resolved as part of the ongoing peace negotiations.
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The Lebanese government, Fadlallah said, “Will be unable to impose the implementation of the agreement signed in Washington unless they go, with American support, to civil war”.
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