 "Destroyed buildings stand on an area of a village in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel. Today, Israel's Cabinet will sign off on a ceasefire deal with Lebanon. AP")
Is it the beginning of the end? Is Israel’s war against Hezbollah finally coming to an end? Today, November 26, marks a crucial day, as the Israeli Cabinet will vote on a ceasefire deal after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the plan in “principle”.
This major development comes after Israel has waged a long and bloody war in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has claimed the lives of over 3,700 people.
On Monday, Reuters reported that US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, are expected to announce a ceasefire in Lebanon against Israel and Hezbollah. Interestingly, news of the ceasefire came as the Israeli military said it carried out a wave of strikes, hitting around two dozen Hezbollah targets across Lebanon in one hour.
But what’s in the deal that has nearly been finalised? Will the proposed deal bring peace to the region?
We explore and get you the answers.
What’s in the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah?
Earlier on Monday, reports emerged that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had indicated that he was open to a ceasefire deal with Lebanon, and by extension with Hezbollah . But what’s in the US-brokered deal?
The deal brokered by the United States begins with a two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River — which is situated about 18 miles from the border with Israel.
Once the withdrawal of soldiers on either side is complete, thousands of Lebanese would be deployed in the area, alongside the UN observer force that is already in place.
News agency AP reports that an international committee would be set up to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which was passed in 2006 to end a month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah but never fully implemented.
The deal also allows Lebanese civilians to return to their homes in the southern Lebanon villages and towns they evacuated.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, Lebanon has also committed to overseeing all arms purchases and arms production in the country to ensure that nothing reaches Hezbollah.
However, Michael Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, told Israeli Army Radio that while the deal is almost finalised, there are some sticking points that need to be ironed out. For instance, Israel wants the freedom to strike in Lebanon if they believe Hezbollah is violating their agreement deal. However, Lebanese officials have said agreeing to such a deal would violate Lebanon’s sovereignty. Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem has said the terror group would not accept an agreement that does not entail a “complete and comprehensive end to the aggression” and that does not protect Lebanon’s sovereignty.
To this end, the US has said that Israel will be allowed to act whenever it sees an “immediate threat” from Lebanon.
The ceasefire deal also states that the US will head the international body overseeing the deal’s implementation, while France will also be involved. Earlier, Lebanon and Israel had disagreed over which countries would be part of the panel, with Israel opposing France owing to the rise in mistrust. On the other hand, Lebanon has rejected Britain to be a part of the body.
Has Netanyahu approved the ceasefire deal?
After months of discussions and intense negotiations, Israeli officials said on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to it in “principle” and has convened a high-level security cabinet in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening to agree to it.
However, the official stressed that Israel was accepting a cessation of hostilities, not an end to the war on Hezbollah. “We don’t know how long it will last,” the official said to Times of Israel of the ceasefire. “It could be a month, it could be a year.”
A US official, who has been involved in the discussions, also was quoted as saying, “We think we have a deal. We are on the goal line but we haven’t passed it yet. The Israeli Cabinet needs to approve the deal on Tuesday and something can always go wrong until then.”
How have others reacted to the ceasefire deal?
It appears that while Netanyahu is ready to accept this deal, not everyone is happy with it. Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister, has called it a “big mistake” and said it would be “a historic missed opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
He urged Netanyahu to “listen to the commanders fighting in the field… precisely now, when Hezbollah is beaten and longs for a ceasefire, it is forbidden to stop.”
Benny Gantz , who resigned from Israel’s war Cabinet, called on the prime minister to make the details of the ceasefire deal public. “It is the right of the residents of the north, the fighters and the citizens of Israel to know,” Gantz said.
Some northern residents have also expressed concerns as to whether a ceasefire was the right way to go. “In my opinion, it would be a serious mistake to sign an agreement as long as Hezbollah has not been completely eliminated,” said Maryam Younnes, 29, an Israeli-Lebanese student from Maalot-Tarshiha to AFP. “It would be a mistake to sign an agreement as long as Hezbollah still has weapons.”
Dorit Sison, 51, a teacher displaced from Shlomi, said: “I don’t want a ceasefire, because if they do it along the lines that they’ve announced, we’ll be in the same place in five years.”
Does the deal mean peace will return to the region?
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, if agreed, will bring calm to the region that has been ravaged by war. However, it’s not clear how it would affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
One diplomat feared that if a ceasefire wasn’t reached now, it would expand into Syria and Iraq. Israel has carried out regular airstrikes on Iran-linked groups in Syria and has threatened to strike in Iraq, where Iran-backed militias have periodically launched drone attacks on Israel.
Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, said during a visit to Damascus on Sunday that ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon are critical to “avoid Syria being dragged even further into the conflict.”
With inputs from agencies