Border negotiations: Lebanon’s coordinated efforts for long-term border stability

Report by Bassam Abou Zeid, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

As Lebanon was engaged in maritime border negotiations in July 2022, Hezbollah launched drones toward the Karish field, declaring its support for the state's ongoing talks. 

Three months later, on October 31, 2022, a maritime border agreement was reached. Hezbollah believes that its military actions at that time supported the state in securing the deal. 

Currently, Hezbollah considers its military activities, including the deployment of reconnaissance drones over sensitive areas in Israel, as a means to bolster the state in addressing contentious points along the land border and halting Israeli violations, thus ensuring long-term stability.

According to information obtained by LBCI, Lebanon, guided by American ideas and the French paper, and in consultation with Hezbollah, is drafting border and military arrangements in southern Litani. 

A Lebanese government source told LBCI that they are on the path to reaching an agreement, though the details remain unspecified. The announcement of any steps depends on a ceasefire in Gaza and its extension to southern Lebanon, along with understanding Israeli demands and their alignment with American positions.

Simultaneously, the Lebanese Army is preparing to enhance its presence in the area where UN Resolution 1701 is implemented. 

In addition to ongoing communication with the US Army, meetings are being held between a Lebanese Army committee and committees from the French and Italian armies at the army headquarters. These discussions aim to prioritize the Lebanese Army's needs for reinforcing its deployment, including the cost of enlisting 6,000 soldiers for deployment south of the Litani. 

This initiative, alongside providing additional equipment and weapons to the existing two brigades and regiment in southern Litani, is estimated to cost around one billion dollars.

Sources indicate that the practical outcomes of these meetings and their results will not materialize until a ceasefire in Gaza is achieved.