Geagea: Framework agreement has shattered Hezbollah's narrative
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed Thursday that the framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel "opens the door to restoring a functioning state and ending the chronic conflict that has drained Lebanon for decades."
"It also establishes a clear equation based on a complete Israeli withdrawal and ending the military situation imposed by Hezbollah," Geagea added, in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
"The tangible change that has occurred lies in the serious push towards sealing the southern border, which has been used for six decades, under various pretexts, to transform Lebanon into an arena of conflict, wars and destruction," Geagea noted.
"The path laid out by this agreement ultimately leads to an Israeli withdrawal, the dismantling of Hezbollah's military and security apparatus, and the transition of Lebanon from a logic of perpetual war to a logic of stability and full state sovereignty," the LF leader said.
Asked whether this agreement opens a serious path toward disarming Hezbollah, or whether this goal remains politically unattainable at the present stage, he stated that "the agreement opens a serious and credible path toward ending the illegal weapons."
He added: "Throughout the past period, Hezbollah tried to convince its constituency that Iran, through an understanding with the United States, would succeed in forcing Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon without the party having to relinquish its weapons. However, the framework agreement completely shattered this narrative and dispelled the illusion that the party sought to establish in order to maintain its weapons and contain the discontent within its popular base."
He continued: "The reality is that Israel's presence in southern Lebanon is a direct result of the war initiated by Hezbollah. It was Hezbollah that provoked the confrontation and brought Israel into Lebanese territory."
Geagea also noted that Hezbollah alone bears responsibility for the current situation, because "had it not been for its decision to wage the war in support of Gaza, and later expand it under the banner of supporting Tehran, Israel would not be present inside Lebanese territory."
"Thus, Hezbollah has become the primary obstacle to the completion of the Israeli withdrawal, and it also bears responsibility for the continued displacement of the people of southern Lebanon and the prolongation of the crisis," Geagea charged.
As for the internal Lebanese conditions that must be met for Hezbollah’s weapons to be fully subject to the authority of the state, he commented: "In my estimation, most of the political conditions are now in place."
"There is a president of the republic committed to the state’s monopoly on the use of force, a prime minister who adopts the same approach, and a parliamentary and ministerial majority that supports this option, in addition to a cross-sectarian popular majority that now wants to end the era of wars, chaos, destruction and displacement," Geagea explained.
He added that the next phase requires moving from "issuing decisions to implementing them."
"The government's decisions were courageous and pivotal, but their success remains contingent on their implementation on the ground, through enforcing the state's monopoly on weapons throughout all Lebanese territory," he said.
In response to a question, he added: "We must remember that the framework agreement was sponsored by the United States, which is the only party capable of guaranteeing its implementation and monitoring its progress."
"Within the framework of this agreement, Israel pledged two fundamental things: first, a complete withdrawal immediately upon confirmation of the end of the illegitimate military presence represented by Hezbollah; and second, an affirmation that it has no territorial ambitions," Geagea added.
"This position is not new; historical experience also confirms it. Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 and only returned after confrontations instigated by Hezbollah, whether in the July War of 2006, after the events of October 8, 2013, or in the most recent confrontation," Geagea suggested.
He added that "it is important to emphasize that the demand for the state to have a monopoly on weapons is not an Israeli demand, but a Lebanese demand stipulated in the Taif Agreement more than three decades ago."
"It constitutes the natural entry point for the establishment of an effective state capable of extending its sovereignty over all its territory," Geagea explained.
Source: Naharnet
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