Editorial comment: The handful of puppets who claim to be handing Lebanon over to the occupying army of the Zionist regime—a regime that is being prosecuted by the highest international courts for genocide and crimes against humanity—cannot, of course, represent the Lebanese people, who have repeatedly demonstrated their unwavering commitment to their land, their sovereignty, their freedom and their dignity.
Lama El Horr
Under US mediation, the Lebanese government agreed to Israeli terms for the Zionist occupation of southern Lebanon.
After several days of negotiations, a framework agreement was signed in Washington on Friday, June 26, between representatives of the Lebanese government and Israel, representing the most significant document between Israel and Lebanon in the last forty years.
The framework initially stipulates the dismantling of Hezbollah by the Lebanese Army. It then calls for the Israeli withdrawal from two areas in southern Lebanon, selected as the first testing ground for the withdrawal, which will then be placed under the control of the Arab army, and lays the groundwork for a broader redeployment process.
The agreement was finalized after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who returned Thursday night from a trip to the Persian Gulf, took direct part in the negotiations Friday morning and held approximately eight phone conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, stressing to both the urgency for the Trump administration to finalize the deal before the end of the week.
The Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel affirm that nothing in this Framework prevents them from exercising their inherent right to self-defense. Both governments commit to establishing a military coordination group, with the support and participation of the United States.
Aoun praised the US government “for its efforts in hosting and sponsoring the negotiations and supporting Lebanon’s position,” and promised “to continue working until we fully achieve what we have committed to accomplishing.”
For his part, Netanyahu stated that the agreement is a “major achievement” for the occupation, calling it a “major blow to Iran.” He added that the Israeli army continues its operations to destroy Hezbollah’s infrastructure in southern Lebanon, emphasizing that “there is still much work to be done” and that Israel will enter Lebanon and act decisively when necessary.
Furthermore, Netanyahu declared that the Zionist army will not allow Lebanese residents or Hezbollah to return to the so-called “safe zone,” which is under Israeli occupation. He confirmed that Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon until “Hezbollah is disarmed.”
The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, declared his rejection of the document, explaining that “all current Israeli maneuvers are calculated to incite internal discord, whether between the various factions in Lebanon or between Beirut and Damascus.”
Shortly after the so-called framework agreement was announced, protests broke out across the capital and in Dahiyeh.
The protesters chanted vehement anti-Israeli slogans, declaring an absolute rejection of any normalization with the Israeli regime, responsible for the deaths of more than 4,200 people in the last four months.
Several Lebanese parties rejected the agreement; the Amal party issued a statement urging “all Lebanese to maintain the highest level of awareness and national unity, no longer allowing themselves to be drawn in by the enemy’s interests in matters of internal conflict, for the unity of the Lebanese people remains the impregnable barrier against any danger that threatens the homeland.”
Other parties also expressed their rejection, including the Lebanese Communist Party, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, and the “Action for Victory” movement. The latter emphasized that “the authorities have persisted in their strategy of surrender by concluding a framework agreement with the Zionist enemy. This agreement constitutes a true national catastrophe, as the authorities sold our land and sovereignty, legitimized the occupation, offered the southern villages as a gift to the enemy, recognized Israel as the usurping entity of our occupied Arab land, and continued their conspiracy against the Resistance, without which there would be neither country nor sovereignty.”
The Lebanese Resistance, Hezbollah, declared this Sunday that it is monitoring and tracking Israeli ceasefire violations and reserves the right to defend its homeland and its people.
In a statement, he announced that the Zionist army continued its ceasefire violations over the weekend.
