Israel-Lebanon Sign U.S.-Brokered Peace “Framework”

Israel and Lebanon inked a peace deal on Friday brokered by the United States.

The 14-point “trilateral framework” affirms the right of each nation to exist and gives the Lebanese Army control of all Lebanon after Hezbollah and any other terror groups are disarmed and disabled.

The agreement also says the Israel Defense Forces will depart Lebanon when those “non-state” groups are dismantled. And Israel has zero “territorial ambitions” in the country. That codicil is a major departure from what Israel’s leaders have repeatedly said, i.e., that Israel will not abandon conquered territory, notably in Lebanon.

The agreement commits the United States to “rally international partners” to rebuild the country. Whether Israel is one of the “partners” and how much American taxpayers will contribute is left unsaid.

IDF to Leave

The agreement’s first five points deal with the security and sovereignty of the two countries and the Lebanese army’s reestablishing control of the nation’s territory and dismantling “non-state” groups, meaning Hezbollah.

Noting that the nations have a right to “exist in peace,” Israel and Lebanon “intend to conclusively end the conflict, address its underlying causes, and to therewith formally conclude any state of war between them,” the agreement says.

The two sides “commit to a reciprocal, sequenced process, with clear conditions, whereby the [Lebanese Armed Forces] will restore effective sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory, pending the verified disarmament of non-state armed groups and dismantlement of associated infrastructure, enabling the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to progressively redeploy out of the Lebanese territory.” the agreement says.

The agreement creates two “pilot zones” and more in the future over which the LAF will assume control while the IDF concomitantly leaves them. Once the non-state armed groups are dismantled, the “LAF will assume full and effective security responsibility in these zones, internationally supported reconstruction efforts will begin, and Lebanese civilians will be able to safely return to these areas under the exclusive control of Lebanese state authorities.”

The agreement commits Lebanon to assert complete control of its territory. The Lebanese government must also “rebuild the State’s monopoly on the use of force, achieve the complete and verified disarmament of all non-state armed groups, and ensure that such groups will have no military or security role and no armed capabilities anywhere in Lebanon.”

Arab partners under U.S. leadership are to assist that process. 

The dismantling of Hezbollah and other groups “will eliminate any future need for IDF military action or presence in Lebanon,” the agreement says:

Pursuant to the above, the Government of Israel declares that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon.

Lebanese Sovereignty, Israel Leaves

The agreement reaffirms Lebanon’s sovereignty and says its government “rejects the claims of any state or non-state actor to use force on its behalf without its explicit authorization.

The agreement also says the civilian population of southern Lebanon will return once the LAF regains military control of the region.

Point 10 is where American taxpayers, but not Israel’s, might be on the hook:

Separately, and simultaneously, the United States will rally international partners to actively support the Government of Lebanon in rebuilding the country, repairing infrastructure, restoring the economy, and creating opportunities for prosperity. This is expected to include mobilizing substantial reconstruction and humanitarian assistance for Lebanon, economic recovery programs, and investment initiatives so that Lebanon can recover from years of conflict and provide a better future for all its citizens.

Whatever happens in that regard, the agreement appears to be a complete reversal of Israel’s previous iron-clad guarantee never to leave conquered territories.

After the United States and Iran agreed a peace deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was clear:

We established deep security zones around the State of Israel. We did it in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Syria — where, by the way, we destroyed all the weaponry of the Assad army, which was a central link in the Axis of Evil. And I wish to clarify: we will remain in the security zones for as long as it is required to defend our country.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir exploded on X. Israel is not a partner to the agreement and will never depart Lebanon, he said.

“We are not partners to this agreement that does not ensure our security, and it does not bind us in any way,” Ben-Gvir fumed:

We must not compromise on anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah, we must not withdraw from any territory that our fighters have captured and cleared of terror infrastructure, we must not return to a situation where thousands of terrorists sit on the fences of northern settlements, and certainly we must not remain silent for a moment in the face of fire directed at the State of Israel.…

The days are over when the Jew took blows and kept silent. Never again!

Other Israeli officials reiterated Ben-Gvir’s rhetoric.