Hezbollah not required to disarm under ceasefire deal

13-point Lebanon truce allows Hezbollah to continue to function, with no explicit requirement to disarm, while Israel commits to avoiding military action in most of Lebanon unless Lebanese army found to be unable to remove threats to Israel.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

At 4:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, a ceasefire agreement between Israel, Lebanon, and the Hezbollah terrorist organization went into effect, ending active combat in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern and central Israel.

The truce, brokered by the United States and France, includes 13 different provisions, along with assurances provided by the Biden administration to Israel, delineating Israel’s right to self-defense in Lebanon under the ceasefire.

While the deal is anchored in the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, passed in August 2006 to end the Second Lebanon War, it makes no explicit call for the disarming of terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, as UNSC 1701 had.

Instead, the agreement merely requires that Hezbollah and other armed groups in Lebanon refrain from attacking Israel.

Furthermore, the deal obliges the Lebanese government to supervise all weapons sales, transfers, and production in Lebanese territory, with unauthorized arms production facilities to be dismantled, along with unauthorized military bases and infrastructure. Unauthorized weapons are to be confiscated by the Lebanese military or security apparatus.

Israel will also be obliged to refrain from carrying out any military activity in Lebanese territory, so long as the truce is maintained, though Israel will retain the right to conduct aerial reconnaissance in Lebanese airspace, so long as aircraft do not break the sound barrier.

The text of the agreement reaffirms the right of both Israel and Lebanon to self-defense, while a letter from the Biden administration delineates more precisely Israel’s right to act militarily in Lebanon both in response to violations of the ceasefire, and to security threats by armed groups in Lebanon.

Israel will, according to the U.S. letter of understanding, have the right to act militarily against security threats in Lebanon, including any violations of the ceasefire deal in southern Lebanon, with no limit to Israel’s freedom of action.

North of the Litani River, however, Israel can only act against security threats if the Lebanese army is unable or unwilling to remove the threat. Israel must, whenever possible, inform the U.S. of planned military measures.

The implementation of the deal will be overseen by a committee led by the U.S. and including France.

Violations of the ceasefire are to be reported to the committee and to the United Nations peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) deployed in southern Lebanon.

Israel is required to withdraw all of its forces from Lebanese territory and move south of the Blue Line within 60 days.

In addition, the agreement provides for U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon to resolve lingering disputes over the precise demarcation of the border.

The full list of provisions in the agreement is as follows:

1. Hezbollah and other terror groups are to refrain from attacking Israel
2. Israel is to refrain from carrying out attacks in Lebanon, so long as truce maintained
3. Jerusalem and Beirut are work to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, including removal of Hezbollah from the Israeli border, up to the Litani River
4. Israel and Lebanon will both retain the right to self-defense
5. The Lebanese army is to be sole armed force south of the Litani River after Israel completes its withdrawal within 60 days
6. Beirut is to supervise all arms sales, production and transfers in Lebanon
7. Unauthorized weapon production facilities are to be dismantled
8. Unauthorized military bases and infrastructure and weapons must be dismantled or confiscated
9. A committee, headed by U.S. and including France, will be formed to oversee implementation of the deal
10. Israel and Lebanon are to report violations to the committee and to the UNIFIL mission
11. Lebanon is obliged to use its military to enforce its borders and border crossings
12. Israel must withdraw all forces from Lebanon within 60 days
13. U.S. will promote indirect talks between Jerusalem and Beirut to resolve disputes over the Blue Line, demarcating the Israel-Lebanon frontier