Lebanon, Israel, US Sign Trilateral Deal to Pave Way for Lasting Peace
Lebanon, Israel and the United States have signed a trilateral framework agreement aimed at establishing a foundation for peace between the two neighbouring countries, officials announced on Friday.
The agreement, the details of which have not been made public, follows five rounds of talks in Washington. The discussions were intended to resolve decades of hostilities and recent weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the signing ceremony that the agreement "begins to put in place a framework for lasting peace and security."
Lebanon's ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, described the accord as "a first step on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, securing a permanent and final cessation of hostilities (and) enabling our people to go back to their land."
Israel's envoy to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, stated that under the deal, "Iran is out, Hezbollah is out, and the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in."
The conflict escalated on March 2 when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel, stating that the action was in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneh in US-Israeli strikes. Israel responded with air strikes and a ground invasion, which, according to Lebanese authorities, have killed more than 4,200 people.
Under US pressure, Lebanese officials began direct talks with Israel in Washington in April. A truce announced on April 17 ultimately failed to stop the fighting.
A new ceasefire was declared this month after Tehran insisted that its agreement with Washington to end the broader conflict—initiated by the United States and Israel in late February—must include Lebanon.
