As Iran seeks leverage, can US enforce Lebanon-Israel ceasefire?
The US-brokered ceasefire plan is already showing cracks.
You're reading an excerpt from AL-MONITOR Washington. To read the full newsletter, sign up here.
WASHINGTON — Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a new US-brokered ceasefire, but turning their deal on paper into calm on the ground will be a challenge for the United States.
After a fourth round of political talks at the State Department, the Israeli and Lebanese governments said in a joint statement Wednesday they would implement a full ceasefire, conditioned on “a complete cessation” of attacks from Hezbollah and the withdrawal of its fighters from the area south of Lebanon’s Litani River.
The two countries also agreed to create “pilot zones,” where the Lebanese military would assume full control and all “nonstate actors” would be barred. The military said Thursday that one of its units had begun deploying in the southern town of Debbine following Israel's withdrawal.
