The Israeli military withdrawal from two "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon, scheduled under last Friday's framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, has been postponed until both sides agree on a "joint supervision mechanism," Israeli Channel 11 reported.
The MCG4L is designed to operate around the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week © Mena Today
The Israeli military withdrawal from two "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon, scheduled under last Friday's framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, has been postponed until both sides agree on a "joint supervision mechanism," Israeli Channel 11 reported.
The delay centres on the establishment of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon (MCG4L), a body provided for in a "security annex" signed alongside the main framework agreement.
The MCG4L is designed to operate around the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to manage "deconfliction, verification and overall implementation" of the framework between the Lebanese and Israeli armies.
In short: before Israeli boots leave Lebanese soil in the pilot zones, both militaries need to agree on who watches whom, how, and under what rules.
The delay is not unexpected. Framework agreements of this complexity rarely translate immediately into clean implementation on the ground.
The security annex itself signals that both parties anticipated the need for a structured military-to-military channel before any significant troop movements could begin.
For Lebanon, which has staked considerable political capital on the Washington framework as a path to full sovereignty, the pace of implementation will be closely watched, both by supporters who see it as a historic opportunity and by Hezbollah, which remains opposed and will be looking for any sign that the process is stalling.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu restated his rejection of Donald Trump's latest Gaza plan in televised remarks to his right-wing government on Sunday, even as Israel's military has effectively halted attacks in the territory under pressure from the U.S. President.
US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced legislation Thursday that would authorize up to $1.2 billion in security assistance to Lebanon over five years, with part of the funding conditioned on Beirut's progress toward a state monopoly on arms and the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Lebanon and Israel have agreed a shortlist of countries that could send troops to verify the disarmament of Hezbollah under a U.S.-brokered agreement, a Lebanese official said on Friday, with the United States due to pick countries from the list.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
