Hezbollah Rejects US-Brokered Lebanon-Israel Framework Agreement

A U.S.-brokered framework agreement signed on June 26 in Washington between Lebanon and Israel faces a deadlock as Naim Qassem, Secretary-General of Hezbollah, explicitly rejected the deal. Qassem characterized the agreement as illegitimate and unconstitutional, vowing that Hezbollah would remain in the field to confront Israel. He argued the deal serves Israeli interests and criticized the use of the term redeployment instead of withdrawal, asserting that the framework will not pass.

Despite Hezbollah's opposition, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam supports the agreement as a means to restore state sovereignty and has refused to be blackmailed by the militant group. The deal conditions the full withdrawal of Israeli forces on the complete disarmament of Hezbollah and the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure. To implement this, U.S. Central Command is coordinating the establishment of pilot zones in towns such as Froun, Ghandouriyeh, and Zawtar, where the Lebanese army will assume control from the Israel Defense Forces.

Implementation remains fragile. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon as long as necessary. Meanwhile, direct technical negotiations are scheduled for July 15 and 16 in Rome to discuss operational logistics. The situation is further complicated by reports of Israeli ceasefire violations, including a July 6 strike in Nabatieh al-Fawqa that killed four people, and warnings from Lebanese lawmakers that attempts to enforce disarmament could trigger a civil war.