From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Sharing new details of ceasefire deal, US official says international community learned from mistakes of 2006
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
A senior Biden administration official involved in the Lebanon ceasefire negotiations fills in additional details of the agreement during a briefing with reporters.
Israeli troops will initially hold their positions at the start of the 60-day period commencing the ceasefire, the senior US official says, explaining that Israel’s gradual withdrawal will only begin when soldiers from the Lebanese military begin being deployed in southern Lebanon, to ensure that no vacuums are created in the interim. “This is a process that cannot happen overnight or in several days.”
The senior US official clarifies that this doesn’t mean the withdrawal will only begin after 60 days. “Rather, by the time we reach somewhere in the 50 to 60 days, all Israeli troops will be gone… In the first couple of weeks, you’ll already start seeing some of those [IDF] troops withdraw.”
During the 60-day period, the US official says that the Lebanese government has authorized its military to verify that Hezbollah moves north of the Litani River, which is located roughly 18 miles north of Israel’s border. There is an agreed-upon map that details the exact lines to which Hezbollah is required to retreat and where specifically the Lebanese army will be deployed.
Lebanese troops will be tasked with patrolling southern Lebanon to ensure that any remaining Hezbollah infrastructure is removed and cannot be rebuilt, the senior US official says.
The ceasefire agreement will also see the US and France join an existing mechanism to monitor the deal’s implementation. Referred to date as the tripartite mechanism and consisting of representatives from Israel, Lebanon and the UNIFIL observer force, the panel failed to ensure the upholding of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which had required Hezbollah to disarm and retreat north of the Litani River.
Under the new deal, the US will become the chair of this enforcement mechanism, which will also be enhanced by France’s presence, the senior administration official says. The committee made up of diplomats and military personnel will be tasked with adjudicating complaints from either side regarding potential ceasefire violations.
The panel will also work to ensure that the Lebanese army is properly trained and equipped to ensure the ceasefire’s implementation, the US official says. While US combat troops will not be on the ground, “there will be [US] military support for the Lebanese Armed Forces,” the official adds.
There will be a separate committee called the Military Technical Committee (MTC) made up of additional countries who will provide additional financial support, equipment and training to the LAF, the US official says.
Unlike the 2006 ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah when the international community “abandoned the scene” after it was reached, “here we remain committed to being on the ground, day to day, watching what’s happening,” the US official says.
The international community is determined to “learn from the mistakes of the past, when Hezbollah was the only organization” involved in the reconstruction of Lebanon. “It is in our interests… to support economic growth” in Lebanon, says the senior official.
The US official also stresses that Hezbollah is “extremely weak at this moment — both militarily and politically,” which presents an opportunity for the Lebanese government to re-establish its sovereignty, particularly by appointing a president — something that Hezbollah blocked for years.
The deal announced today is not “offering Israel a temporary security guarantee, rather a durable ceasefire that [it] can trust,” the senior US official says.
Asked repeatedly to elaborate on the ceasefire’s enforcement mechanism, given reports claiming that the US has provided Israel with guarantees allowing it to immediately strike Lebanon upon alleged Hezbollah violations, the senior US official declines to do so.
Instead, the US official highlights to the now-US-led enforcement committee, which he says will not be a “mailbox” like it was in the years following the Second Lebanon War. Instead, it will operate as a “live messaging service, making sure that whenever there is a view of a violation — specifically a serious violation — it is addressed immediately.”
