Hezbollah supporters marched in Beirut to protest an Israel-Lebanon framework agreement, warning the deal could trigger a civil war.
The unrest highlights a volatile divide over the new peace framework. Supporters of the group fear the agreement's terms will lead to a forced disarming plan, a move that could destabilize the Lebanese state.
Protesters gathered in the streets of Beirut to voice opposition to the framework. According to some reports, the agreement excludes Hezbollah, which the group believes creates a dangerous vacuum and risks internal conflict [1, 2]. However, other reports describe the arrangement as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire specifically with Hezbollah [3].
This tension follows a period of intense violence. The conflict prior to the ceasefire lasted nearly 14 months [4]. The prospect of renewed internal strife is a significant concern for the population, as Lebanon has endured about 30 years of civil war since 1975 [5].
The group's supporters said the exclusion of their interests from the framework threatens the stability of the region. They said that any plan to disarm the organization without a comprehensive political consensus could ignite further violence within the city and across the country.
Local observers said that the protests reflect the deep-seated distrust between the group and the international mediators overseeing the peace process. The framework aims to establish a lasting peace, but the lack of consensus on Hezbollah's role remains a primary point of contention.
“the agreement excludes Hezbollah and the group fears it will lead to civil war”
The protests underscore the precarious nature of the Israel-Lebanon framework. Because there is conflicting information regarding whether Hezbollah is a formal party to the agreement or an excluded entity, the deal faces a legitimacy crisis. If the framework is perceived as a tool for the forced disarmament of Hezbollah, the resulting internal friction could outweigh the benefits of the ceasefire, potentially shifting the conflict from an international border dispute to an internal Lebanese power struggle.
