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Source: https://www.ynetnews.com/opinions-analysis/article/skbvq2tgge
Lebanon Framework Ties Dismantling Hizbullah's Military Threat to IDF Withdrawal
(Ynet News) Itamar Eichner - The Israel-Lebanon framework agreement signed in Washington is an American attempt to create a new security reality in southern Lebanon, in the hope that it will eventually become a diplomatic reality as well. For the first time, Israel and Lebanon have publicly signed a joint document that speaks of neighborly relations, sovereignty, and even future peace. However, the agreement rests on the assumption that the Lebanese army will succeed in doing what it has failed to do for decades, disarm Hizbullah, which is not bound by the agreement at all. One of the key differences from previous arrangements is the American role. This time, the U.S. is building its own monitoring mechanism, with close involvement from the American defense establishment, and wants to ensure that any Israeli withdrawal depends on real progress by the Lebanese army. Yet while the Americans can monitor, mediate and apply diplomatic and economic pressure, they cannot disarm Hizbullah themselves. For Israel, the central achievement is a change in the formula. In the past, Israel was pressured to withdraw from south Lebanon according to predetermined timetables. This time, withdrawal is not automatic, but conditioned on the dismantling of the security threat. This is a significant diplomatic achievement because it establishes, for the first time, international recognition that the Israeli presence is directly linked to the security threat. Diplomatically, the agreement is a message aimed at Tehran. The document states that the Lebanese government is the only body authorized to use force on its territory, denying, at least declaratively, Hizbullah's legitimacy to operate as a "parallel army" in Lebanon's name.