Between war and diplomacy: The long arc of Lebanon–Israel negotiations

Report by Nada Andraos, English adaptation by Mariella Succar

Talk of possible negotiations with Israel has resurfaced in Lebanon, stirring debate between those who see dialogue as inevitable and others who reject it outright. But history shows that negotiations between the two sides are far from new.

Lebanon has, in fact, held multiple rounds of talks with Israel — some led officially by the state, others shaped by the realities on the ground, particularly Hezbollah’s growing influence.

The first negotiations took place in Ras Naqoura on March 23, 1949, when Lebanese officers led by Lt. Col. Toufic Salem sat across from Israeli commander Moshe Dayan. 

Under U.N. mediation, the two sides signed an armistice that ended the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and established a ceasefire line in South Lebanon — an arrangement that held for two decades under the uneasy formula of “no war, no peace.”

The second major round occurred in 1983, a year after Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. Under Prime Minister Shafik Wazzan and President Amine Gemayel, the Lebanese government negotiated with Israel, resulting in the May 17 Agreement, brokered by U.S. envoy Philip Habib. 

The deal called for an Israeli withdrawal in exchange for security arrangements and indirect coordination. However, it was rejected by the Lebanese National Movement led by Walid Jumblatt and Nabih Berri, as well as by leftist parties and Hezbollah, with strong Syrian backing.

During the 1990s, under Syrian tutelage, Lebanon participated in the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference, where the Lebanese delegation reaffirmed adherence to U.N. Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, rejecting normalization or direct negotiations with Israel. Talks quickly stalled, and the south remained under Israeli occupation.

In April 1996, following Israel’s “Grapes of Wrath” operation, Lebanon and Israel reached the April Understanding through U.N. mediation to halt hostilities and stabilize the south — an example of indirect negotiation involving both the Lebanese state and Hezbollah through intermediaries.

By 2000, Israel withdrew from most of South Lebanon, and the U.N. delineated the Blue Line. Yet disputes persisted over the Shebaa Farms, Kfarchouba Hills, and the northern section of Ghajar.

Throughout these years, Hezbollah gained military and political strength, leading prisoner exchange negotiations with Israel through German mediation in 2004 and 2008, which resulted in the return of Lebanese detainees in exchange for the remains of Israeli soldiers.

The 2006 war marked the next turning point, followed by indirect negotiations under U.S. mediation that produced U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, ending hostilities and calling for the deployment of the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL in the south.

The most recent negotiation took place in October 2022, under former President Michel Aoun, when Lebanon and Israel finalized a maritime border demarcation agreement brokered by U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein — drawing a new line meant to end decades of dispute without a formal peace.

From the 1949 Armistice to the 2022 Maritime Agreement, mediators and frameworks have changed — yet one question remains: Will the Lebanese state decide to negotiate again, and when?