Israel, Lebanon Seeks Lasting Peace in Newly-signed Agreement as Hezbollah Calls It 'Surrender'

Israel and Lebanon aimed for lasting peace in the historic framework agreement signed on Friday, with Israeli forces gradually withdrawing and the Lebanese armed forces taking control of the territory and disarm non-state armed groups in a phased process. The government of Lebanon will 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," reads the agreement. However, Hezbollah, a non-state armed group backed by Iran, rejected the deal, calling it surrender and saying it is not consistent with the signed-us Iran Memorandum of Understanding. The framework agreement in Washington is a humiliation, a disgrace, and a surrender of sovereignty. This agreement is non-existent, and the provisions of the Iranian-American Memorandum of Understanding must be implemented, Hezbollah Chief Naeem Qassem said on Saturday. Linking the Israeli withdrawal to the disarming of the resistance throughout all of Lebanon is a very dangerous proposal that crosses all red lines.