Lebanon government confirms Hezbollah’s approval of army deployment in south

The Lebanese government confirmed, Wednesday, that Hezbollah agreed to allow the army to extend its authority in the southern regions of the country, Anadolu Agency reports.

The government emphasized that the army is the entity authorised to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 in line with a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

Information Minister, Ziad Makary, said at a news conference following a Cabinet meeting in Beirut that the Cabinet would convene next Saturday in the southern city of Tyre. He noted that the army commander would attend to present the military’s plan for deployment in the south.

Asked about Hezbollah ministers’ willingness to accept the army’s deployment and authority under the ceasefire agreement, Makary responded: “Of course, this is an agreement endorsed by the Cabinet, and it has the approval of the Lebanese government and Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri.”

Hezbollah Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, confirmed in a video statement last Friday that coordination between his group and the army “will be at a high level to implement the ceasefire agreement.”

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“Our perspective on the Lebanese army is that it is a national army in both leadership and personnel, and it will deploy in the south in its homeland, which is our homeland, too,” he said.

Responding to a question about the army’s ability to deploy in the south, Makary said: “We have confidence in the army, which is tasked with implementing Resolution 1701 with the collective approval of the government, and there is no alternative.”

Resolution 1701, adopted on 11 August, 2006, calls for a complete halt to hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel and the establishment of a weapons-free zone between the Blue Line – the de facto border between Lebanon and Israel – and the Litani River in southern Lebanon, with exceptions for the Lebanese army and the UN peacekeeping mission (UNIFIL).

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is to withdraw its forces south of the Blue Line in a phased manner, while the Lebanese army deploys forces in southern Lebanon within a maximum of 60 days.

The agreement took effect 27 November, ending more than 14 months of fighting between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Resistance group.

Implementation is to be overseen by the US and France, but details on enforcement mechanisms remain unclear.​​​​​​​

At least 14 people were killed and 13 injured in Israeli attacks since the start of the ceasefire last Wednesday, according to an Anadolu tally based on Lebanese Health Ministry figures.

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