Hezbollah Rejects Israel-Lebanon Framework Agreement, Calls It 'Sovereign Surrender'

On June 29, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem formally rejected the framework agreement recently signed by Lebanon and Israel in Washington, describing it as a 'humiliation, disgrace, and sovereign surrender' for Beirut.

In a statement on Saturday, Qassem opposed the agreement's provision linking Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon to Hezbollah's disarmament. He stressed: 'We will continue resistance on the ground to defeat the (Israeli) occupiers... We did not give up under difficult circumstances, and we will not give up.'

Qassem also accused the Lebanese government of legalizing Israel's occupation 'for years to come' by signing the deal, arguing it 'could lead to the annexation of these lands into the Zionist entity.'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich previously suggested Israel might maintain a presence in Lebanon regardless of whether Hezbollah disarms. Smotrich stated: 'We are there until Hezbollah disarms, and I think even longer, because we need a defensible border.'

According to Al Jazeera correspondent Zeina Khodr in Lebanon, the agreement does not include the word 'withdrawal' but rather a 'roadmap toward normalization of relations between Israel and Lebanon.' It acknowledges mutual rights to 'peaceful' existence, formally ends the state of war, aims for direct negotiations under U.S. mediation, establishes a permanent communication channel, and begins drafting a comprehensive peace and security treaty.

Immediately after the signing ceremony, Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon took to the streets, burning tires and blocking roads leading to Beirut Airport on Friday evening. They protested the agreement, the presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese soil, and Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon.

Despite the agreement, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli forces bombed areas near the towns of Markaba and Nabatieh al-Fawqa in the south on Saturday morning. Earlier overnight, they also struck near the town of Markaba, just 1.5 km from the Israel-Lebanon border.

Meanwhile, some Lebanese officials expressed optimism about the deal. Lawmaker and former Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi praised the agreement, saying Lebanon had finally 'behaved as a state.' He said: 'It is no longer acceptable for Lebanon's decisions to be dominated by Iran's pawn, or for Hezbollah to continue dominating the state and its institutions.'

Lawmaker Gebran Bassil, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, said the framework agreement 'requires responsible participation.' In response to Hezbollah-led protests, Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj issued a judicial order requiring Lebanese security forces to prevent riots and identify troublemakers for legal action.

Former Israeli ambassador Alon Pinkas expressed skepticism about the agreement's effectiveness, arguing the core issue is Hezbollah, not the territorial dispute between Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah warned that any effort by the Lebanese army to enforce the U.S.-brokered deal would lead to 'civil war.'