Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that the Lebanon-Israel framework agreement signed earlier in the day in Washington marked the beginning of the path toward restoring Lebanon’s full sovereignty, vowing to continue working until the process is completed.
In a statement issued by the Lebanese Presidency on Friday (local time), Aoun said the agreement represents the first step toward enabling displaced Lebanese to return to their land, stressing that Lebanon would no longer accept occupation.
Aoun thanked Washington for hosting and sponsoring the negotiations and expressed gratitude to Arab and friendly countries that backed Lebanon throughout the process, reports Xinhua news agency.
The deal drew immediate opposition from Hezbollah. Its lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said Friday the group would confront any attempt to implement the framework and would not relinquish its weapons, according to Lebanese news website Elnashra.
Fadlallah noted that Iran, a close ally of Hezbollah, had made clear that Tehran would not sign an agreement with Washington before a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, Elnashra reported.
The framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon aims to resolve longstanding disputes. According to Israel’s state-owned Kan TV News, it includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces from two areas in southern Lebanon as part of a pilot program.
The parties also agreed on how to address Hezbollah’s tunnels in southern Lebanon and deal with the group’s growing strength, Kan added.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded video statement Friday evening that the Israeli military will remain in the “security zone” it holds in southern Lebanon as long as Hezbollah does not disarm.
The remarks came shortly after Israel, Lebanon, and the United States signed a framework agreement in Washington, announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Netanyahu described the agreement as a “major achievement” for Israel, signed after lengthy negotiations in Washington between Israel and Lebanon.
He framed the agreement as a major blow to Iran, which he said had been trying to force an Israeli withdrawal.
Israeli forces on Friday continued ground and aerial operations in southern Lebanon, Lebanese media reported.
In the border town of Ain Arab, Israeli troops launched a large-scale combing operation hours after taking seven people — three Lebanese residents and four Syrian farm workers — into Israeli-held territory, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.
(IANS)
