Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stated on Friday that his nation was on the verge of a “new part” of “everlasting agreements”, after the 10-day ceasefire within the Israel-Hezbollah conflict went into power.
In a speech addressing the Lebanese folks and hinting on the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group the day after US President Donald Trump introduced the truce, Aoun stated that his nation was not “an area for anybody’s wars”.
Lebanon was drawn into the Center East battle on March 2 when Tehran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel to avenge the loss of life of Iranian supreme chief Ali Khamenei.
Israel responded by firing waves of strikes on Lebanon and launching a floor offensive, killing practically 2,300 folks and displacing greater than 1,000,000.
“Now, all of us stand earlier than a brand new part,” Aoun stated in his first speech to the nation because the truce.
“It’s the part of transition from engaged on a ceasefire to engaged on everlasting agreements that protect the rights of our folks, the unity of our land, and the sovereignty of our nation.”
He stated the Lebanese authorities had “reclaimed Lebanon and Lebanon’s decision-making energy for the primary time” in practically half a century.
“At this time, we negotiate for ourselves… we’re not a pawn in anybody’s sport, nor an area for anybody’s wars, and we by no means might be once more,” he stated.
Since Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had been sworn in final yr, Beirut took a number of unprecedented selections in opposition to Hezbollah, together with a dedication to disarm the group in August after a November 2024 ceasefire sought to finish its earlier battle with Israel.
It additionally banned the group’s navy acitivites after the beginning of the latest conflict final month.
Hezbollah is the one group to have saved its weapons after the 1975-1990 civil conflict citing “resistance” in opposition to Israel, regardless of the latter’s withdrawal from the nation in 2000.
In a rustic mired by sectarian and political divisions, the Shia group’s arms have repeatedly induced inner crises.
– ‘Not a concession’ –
The president thanked “all those that contributed to reaching the ceasefire”, together with Saudi Arabia and Trump, who introduced the truce on Thursday.
Trump later stated he anticipated Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go to the White Home “over the subsequent 4 or 5 days”.
The ceasefire got here days after Lebanon and Israel’s ambassadors to the US held a gathering in Washington, the primary direct assembly between the 2 nations in a long time, as they’ve technically been at conflict since 1948.
Negotiations with Israel is a divisive subject in Lebanon, with some seeing it as a method to finish a long time of recurring conflicts, whereas others together with Hezbollah and its supporters reject it.
Direct talks with Israel had been “not an indication of weak spot nor a concession… negotiations don’t imply, and can by no means imply, giving up any proper, conceding any precept, or compromising the sovereignty of this nation,” Aoun added in his speech.
On Might 17, 1983, Lebanon and Israel signed an settlement on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon after four-and-a-half months of direct talks with US participation.
The deal was scrapped lower than a yr later, in March 1984, underneath strain from Syria and its allies in Lebanon.
After the 2024 conflict, Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives met inside the framework of a ceasefire monitoring committee.
The 2 sides additionally concluded an settlement in 2022 to demarcate their maritime border, brokered by Washington with out direct communication.
“I hereby affirm… that there might be no settlement that infringes upon our nationwide rights,” Aoun stated.
“Our purpose is obvious: to cease the Israeli aggression in opposition to our land and our folks, to attain Israeli withdrawal, to increase the authority of the state over all its territory by its personal forces solely, and to make sure the return of the prisoners and the return of our folks to their houses and villages.”
