Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem has rejected a new cease-fire between Lebanon and Israel. File Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA
June 27 (UPI) — Israel and Lebanon have created a framework for a cease-fire, though Hezbollah is already rejecting it because it calls for disarming the organization.
The neighboring countries signed a cease-fire deal in Washington, D.C., Friday without Hezbollah’s input. The deal says that Israel will withdraw from Lebanon if Hezbollah is disarmed. But Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said the group will keep fighting until Israel is forced to leave Lebanon.
It’s unclear how Lebanon plans to force Hezbollah to disarm.
Israel then attacked Nabatieh al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon Saturday, Al Jazeera reported.
“The important principle established in the agreement is that there will be no redeployment by Israel in southern Lebanon, no withdrawal, as long as the terrorist organization Hezbollah is not disarmed throughout Lebanon, and the safety of the residents of the north is guaranteed,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a video statement Saturday evening.
“This is the basic condition to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have pledged and which we are being implemented,” he said.
Israel said it warned its military to plan for an extended stay.
“The test will be in implementing the agreement, and many more challenges are expected,” Katz said. “The Prime Minister and I have instructed the IDF to prepare for an extended stay in the security zone, and to deploy accordingly to protect IDF soldiers and remove threats from northern communities.”
Hezbollah supporters protested in Beirut after the agreement was announced.
A former U.S. diplomat told Al Jazeera that the cease-fire deal benefits Israel more and could be dangerous for Lebanon.
“In the end, I don’t think it will achieve peace. It’s a formula for an open-ended struggle. In the long run, it’s not even really good for Israel, although right now they feel like they have the upper hand,” Middle-East expert Nabeel Khoury said.
But the agreement will allow Israeli troops to return home.
“Essentially, these demands that the Lebanese armed forces do the work that the Israelis couldn’t do, or it proved too costly for the Israelis to do. They want the Lebanese army to do their bidding,” Khoury said.
“If the Lebanese army can go after Hezbollah, all over Lebanon, is what is being demanded of them, and the Israelis simply lend air support, then this is advantageous for Israel,” he added.
The cease-fire framework calls for Israel to initially withdraw from two small areas called pilot zones. But it didn’t say where those areas are. Then, the Lebanese army will gradually take over security for the areas.