Israel, Lebanon sign framework agreement with US in ‘first step’ for peace, says Rubio
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors announced a framework agreement on Friday that was described as the first step towards peace following the tensions between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.
The officials did not provide details on the agreement signed by Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, and Nada Hamadeh, Lebanon’s ambassador to the United States.
Hamadeh said the draft is “the first step on the road to restoring Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, achieving a permanent and final end to the conflict, enabling our people to return to their land and allowing all Lebanese to live in peace, security, and prosperity.”
Leiter said the final destination of this framework is peace between the two countries.
“True peace, where both countries will live in security, where the sovereignty of Israel and Lebanon will be honored, respected and protected,” said Leiter. “In this tripartite agreement based on performance, Iran is out. Hezbollah is out. And the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in.”
Earlier on Friday, Israeli soldiers dropped leaflets in the southern Lebanese town of Mansouri on Friday asking residents to leave, Lebanese state media reported. It was the first time the plan had been issued since the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect.
Israel and Lebanon held talks in Washington this week that included discussions on a US-backed proposal for the Israeli army to hand over to the Lebanese army some of the territory it had won in its war with Hezbollah.
Before talks resumed this week, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire as Israel kept troops in what it described as a “safe zone” aimed at preventing attacks by the Iran-backed group in northern Israel.
The violence has since been halted, as Israel said on Friday that its forces had raided and killed what the military described as seven Hezbollah members who were working near his compound. Reuters could not confirm this.
A Lebanese military official said Israel had recently added the town of Mansouri to its territory, where Israeli forces had dumped evacuation papers on Friday. The official said that Lebanese farmers continued to move in and out of Mansouri, but they did not live there.
An Israeli army spokesman said the military issued what he described as a “reminder” to civilians that “the area is within the security zone where IDF soldiers are operating. It’s a reminder not to be in that area so they don’t get hurt.”
Lebanese officials say Israeli forces enforce the northern border of the area by shooting anyone who approaches it, including civilians and Lebanese soldiers.
