Lebanon now seek permanent agreements, says President Aoun

Hezbollah has said it opposes direct talks with Israel and its lawmakers on Friday criticised the Lebanese government for agreeing to hold such negotiations. Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has said that his country was on the verge of a “new phase” of “permanent agreements,” after the 10-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war went into force overnight. The televised address was his first speech since the US brokered a ceasefire to end six weeks of fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group on Thursday, with Aoun declaring his country was no longer “an arena for anyone’s wars.” Aoun said that a ceasefire agreed to by his country should be transformed into “permanent agreements,” without saying whether he was referring to a prospective peace deal with Israel.He said the Lebanese government had “reclaimed Lebanon and Lebanon’s decision-making power for the first time” in nearly half a century.
Aoun said, “These negotiations are not a sign of weakness, nor a retreat, nor a concession.” He only mentioned Israel when saying his goal was to stop Israeli attacks on Lebanon and secure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese territory. Israel’s defence minister said on Friday Israeli troops would continue to demolish homes in southern Lebanon that he said were being used by Hezbollah. Aoun said he was prepared to “bear full responsibility for these choices, and I am ready to go wherever necessary to liberate my land, protect my people, and save my country.” Aoun made several apparent references to Iran and Hezbollah in his address, without mentioning them directly. Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the regional war by firing into Israel on March 2 in support of Tehran.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East conflict on March 2 when Tehran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel to avenge the death of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, with Israel responding by firing waves of strikes at Hezbollah targets and launching a ground offensive. Since Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam were sworn in last year, Beirut took several decisions against Hezbollah, including a commitment to disarm the group in August after a November 2024 ceasefire sought to end its previous conflict with Israel.Hezbollah is the only organization to have kept its weapons after the 1975-1990 civil war citing “resistance” against Israel, despite the latter’s withdrawal from the country in 2000. In a country mired by sectarian and political divisions, the Shia group’s arms have repeatedly caused internal crises.
Negotiations with Israel are a divisive topic in Lebanon, with some seeing it as a way to end decades of recurring conflicts, while others, including Hezbollah and its supporters, reject it. On May 17, 1983, Lebanon and Israel signed an agreement on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon after four-and-a-half months of direct talks with US participation. The deal was scrapped less than a year later, in March 1984, under pressure from Syria and its allies in Lebanon.