Lebanon, Israel and the United States on Friday signed a trilateral framework agreement aimed at paving the way for a peace deal between the two long-time Middle East adversaries.
The agreement -- which includes a pilot effort in which Lebanese soldiers take control of two areas occupied by Israel, as well as a process aimed at disarming Hezbollah -- is the result of five rounds of talks in the US capital, reported AFP.
The deal "begins to put in place a framework for lasting peace and security," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the signing ceremony, noting: "It's the beginning of the beginning. There's a lot of work ahead."
Lebanon's ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, said the accord "is a first step on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, securing a permanent and final cessation of hostilities (and) enabling our people to go back to their land."
And Israel's US envoy, Yechiel Leiter, said that under the deal, "Iran is out, Hezbollah is out, and the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in."
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the broader Middle East war on March 2 with rocket fire aimed at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.
Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion, and its troops continue to occupy swaths of southern Lebanon, where they have been carrying out extensive demolition of homes and other buildings.
According to the agreement, whose text was released late Friday by the State Department, Israel and Lebanon "declare their intent to conclusively end the conflict, address its underlying causes, and to therewith formally conclude any state of war between them."
It also establishes a process by which the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) would restore "sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory," pending the "verified disarmament of non-state armed groups," particularly Hezbollah.
That in turn would allow the Israeli army to "progressively redeploy out of the Lebanese territory," the agreement states.
Despite the deal, Israel and its bitter enemy Hezbollah -- which is part of the Lebanese government but also maintains a powerful armed wing outside state control -- made clear that major differences remain.
- 'Pilot areas' -
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said earlier Friday that Israel has "no option but to withdraw completely from every inch of our Lebanese land," and that its forces "must leave unconditionally."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu however said in a pre-recorded video shared with Israeli media shortly after the framework agreement was announced that Israel has no plans to exit Lebanon until Hezbollah gives up its weapons.
Prior to the release of the text, Netanyahu said his country's military would allow the Lebanese army to take control of territory in "two pilot areas" -- one south of Lebanon's Litani River and another north of it.
According to the text, "the LAF will assume full and effective security responsibility in these zones, internationally supported reconstruction efforts will begin, and Lebanese civilians will be able to safely return to these areas."
Rubio meanwhile said in a statement that the agreement establishes a "clear and structured process" to disarm Hezbollah and its infrastructure, as well as a US-facilitated military working group to help implement the deal.
Washington's top diplomat also said the United States would commit $100 million in humanitarian assistance in coordination with the United Nations, and would reimburse Lebanon's army for $30 million as it seeks to "improve the capability and capacity" of those forces.
The United Nations chief of humanitarian affairs, Tom Fletcher, hailed the agreement and called the signing in Washington "a moment of hope and opportunity."
Under US pressure, Lebanese and Israeli officials began direct talks in April in Washington, and a truce was announced on April 17 that ultimately failed to stop the fighting.
A new but very fragile ceasefire was declared this month as Tehran insisted Lebanon must be included in its deal with Washington to end the broader war.
The conflict has displaced more than one million Lebanese and left more than 4,200 dead, according to Lebanese authorities.
