Israel and Lebanon’s complicated talks: Is Hezbollah’s disarmament possible? - opinion

The recent announcement of a three-week extension to the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, brokered by US President Donald Trump, offers a glimmer of hope for de-escalation. However, this fragile progress was immediately overshadowed by a substantial rocket barrage from Hezbollah into northern Israel, underscoring the deep-seated animosity and the immense challenges ahead. The fact that Lebanon is even at the negotiating table is a testament to its government's inability to control Hezbollah, which continues to operate as a powerful 'state within a state,' often acting in concert with Iran's interests.

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No one could deny that face-to-face Israel-Lebanon negotiations are long overdue – most would say by many decades.

For decades, Lebanon and Israel have technically been at war, with unresolved issues including the lack of a mutually agreed international border. While UN Security Council resolutions and the UN's Blue Line provide a provisional boundary, a formal demarcation is long overdue. The current talks, as presented by President Trump and much of the media, focus on a cessation of hostilities, but this agenda is fundamentally flawed. The Lebanese delegation cannot genuinely negotiate on behalf of Hezbollah, a reality that complicates any lasting resolution.

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Not many voices are raised to point out that this agenda is a fiction. The Lebanese delegation is not in a position to negotiate on behalf of Hezbollah.

The core issue remains Hezbollah's disarmament and its ability to act unilaterally. Previous agreements, like the one from November 2024, stipulated Hezbollah's withdrawal from areas near the Blue Line, to be replaced by the Lebanese army. This objective, first outlined in UN Resolution 1701 in 2006, has been consistently thwarted by Hezbollah's dominance and the weakness of successive Lebanese governments. The Jerusalem Post views these negotiations with cautious skepticism, recognizing that true peace requires addressing the root cause: Hezbollah's power and its alignment with Tehran, rather than merely managing the symptoms of conflict.

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What Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and his government want – without being able to acknowledge it openly – is Israel’s support, and perhaps help, in eliminating Hezbollah’s ability to act unilaterally in support of Iran’s revolutionary regime.