https://arab.news/vphhh
Following the November 2024 ceasefire that supposedly ended Israel’s aggression on Lebanon, a “mechanism” was put in place to ensure the execution of the agreement. While Lebanon has kept its side of the bargain and not fired a single shot at Israel, Tel Aviv has not stopped bombing Lebanon. Beirut has been catering to all of Israel’s whims. But this has not been enough. A meeting of the mechanism committee scheduled for Jan. 14 was canceled without a valid reason. The Lebanese are stressing. Are Israel and the US trying to force them into an even more compromising agreement?
The mechanism that is supposed to monitor the ceasefire has five members: France, the US, Israel, Lebanon and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun recently added former ambassador to Washington Simon Karam to the Lebanese team, despite Hezbollah’s objection to a civilian discussing security issues. The group considered Karam’s inclusion an “additional blunder” and an indicator that the talks might extend beyond the planned security arrangements.
This increased Hezbollah’s insecurity. Is the Lebanese state scheming with Israel for normalization or to sideline it? From their perspective, the presence of a civilian on the committee means that the political aspect could be discussed. Otherwise, if it was only security issues on the agenda, a military negotiator could do the job. The inclusion of a civilian who has anti-Hezbollah views has increased the tension and the mistrust between the government and the group.
