2026 Israel–Lebanon Framework Agreement

2026 Israel–Lebanon Framework Agreement also known as The Trilateral Framework, is an agreement signed on 26 June, 2026 by Israel and Lebanon, with the United States as mediator, intended as an initial step towards ending the 2026 Lebanon war and establishing a lasting peace between the two countries.

The agreement was signed at the United States Department of State in Washington, D.C., by Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, in the presence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and State Counselor Daniel Holler.

Background The agreement was signed following the renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah on 2 March 2026, after the 2024 Israel–Lebanon ceasefire agreement broke down during the wider 2026 Iran war. It was reached at the conclusion of the fifth round of the US mediate talks between Israel and Lebanon, held in Washington and beginning in April 2026, marking the first direct negotiations between the two countries since the failed May 17 Agreement of 1983.

Provisions The agreement acknowledges the right of both states to exist peacefully side by side as sovereign states and declares the parties' intent to conclusively end the conflict and formally terminate any state of war between them. Among its significant provisions:

Lebanon reaffirms its exclusive authority over national defense, war and peace, explicitly rejecting unilateral decisions by any group or foreign state, language aimed at Hezbollah's independent military capability. Both countries endorse the restoration of South Lebanon under Lebanese state authority, free of non state armed threats. The agreement establishes two pilot zones, for an initial, limited Israeli withdrawal, under which the Lebanese Armed Forces would progressively assume full security responsibility. Further Israeli withdrawal is to depend on established benchmarks rather than a fixed schedule. The two governments commit to establishing working groups to draft a full comprehensive peace and security agreement and to begin complementary tracks of ongoing direct engagement facilitated by the Unites States. Both sides commit to good faith confidence building measures, including ending hostile action against each other in international political and legal forums, and working toward the return of remains and release of detainees. A separate security annex to the agreement addresses the terms of an "eventual IDF redeployment from Lebanon".

Reactions Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu framed the agreement within the context of protecting northern Israel from attack. Lebanese president Joseph Aoun described it as "the first step on the path towards Lebanon restoring its sovereignty over all its territory," while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam wrote that the agreement "aims to achieve Israel's withdrawal from all Lebanese territories." Secretary of State Rubio called the signing the "beginning of the beginning" of a road to peace.

The agreement drew criticism from aligned religious leadership in Lebanon, Shi'ite mufti Ahmad Qabalan described it as "the worst national disaster to befall Lebanon" with "no legitimacy", arguing that the signing government represented only itself and that the agreement granted the IDF effective patronage over the Lebanese army and over occupied Lebanese territory.

Analysis Commentary on the agreement has noted that it does not require Israel to withdraw from the broader area of southern Lebanon it continued to occupy following the signing, and that Israel signalled it will continue to strikes in Lebanon if deemed necessary, with full Israeli redeployment contingent on Lebanon first demonstrating effective sovereign security control. The Just Security analysis characterized the agreement as a return to a "land for peace" formula, under which Israeli withdrawal is linked to verifiable Lebanese steps to curtail Hezbollah.

2026 Israel–Lebanon Framework Agreement

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