Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said a deal signed with Israel on Friday was a first step towards fully restoring his country's sovereignty after the latest war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
"The framework agreement signed today is a first step" that will enable Lebanese "to return to their fully liberated lands, and to their certainly rebuilt homes... under the sovereignty of the Lebanese state that has no partner in its sovereignty over its land and people," Aoun said according to a statement released by his office.
"We swear to continue to work until this is fully achieved. There will be no more occupation, prisoners, subordination or tutelage," he added.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the agreement "aims to achieve Israel's withdrawal from all Lebanese territory, restore state sovereignty over it" and see the return of displaced Lebanese.
"I look forward to the blessed moment when Israel begins to withdraw -- so that our dear people can return to their homes with safety and dignity -- and to the launch" of reconstruction efforts, Salam added, according to a statement.
Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement in Washington on Friday following several days of talks to secure an end to fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, though both sides framed the deal as an initial step.
"Today we've taken the first step in what will be a difficult journey, without a doubt, but an important and an essential and a necessary one," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said before the agreement was inked.
Rubio added that the agreement establishes a clear process to restore Lebanon's sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its infrastructure.
In a later statement he said that the US would facilitate the implementation of the deal through a trilateral "Military Coordination Group for Lebanon" and that Washington would commit significant resources, including an immediate $100 million in humanitarian assistance in coordination with the UN.
Rubio added that the US reaffirmed its intent to improve the capabilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces "to more effectively establish sovereignty throughout Lebanese territory" with more than $30 million in funds under existing US authorities and appropriations.
Hezbollah warning
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah warned that Lebanese officials who signed the agreement with Israel could not enforce the deal without sparking a civil war.
Lebanese "authorities will be unable to impose the implementation of the agreement signed in Washington unless they go, with American support, to civil war," said Fadlallah, whose party has long rejected the direct Israel-Lebanon talks.
He added that "what happened in Washington is an attempt to disrupt the Islamabad path, and without the resistance (Hezbollah) nothing will pass," referring to the initial agreement between the US and Iran on halting the Middle East war, which includes Lebanon.
After the announcement of the agreement, Hezbollah supporters took to the streets of Beirut late Friday in protest.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that "Hezbollah supporters rode motorbikes through the streets of Beirut" including central areas and along a road leading to the airport "in protest at the framework agreement announced between Lebanon and Israel".
Footage circulating on local outlets and social media showed hundreds of Hezbollah supporters on motorbikes and mopeds roaming Beirut's southern suburbs, the group's stronghold, before they headed to the heart of the capital.
