Lebanon’s Druze Religious Council has endorsed a memorandum submitted by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt warning that the proposed US-backed “framework agreement” with ‘Israel’ marks a “dangerous shift” in the Lebanese-Israeli struggle.
In the text, published following an extraordinary council session, Jumblatt argues the deal “does not prioritize ending the Israeli occupation, but rather redefines the conflict as being linked to the presence of irregular weapons within Lebanon.”
The so-called “framework agreement” conditions any Israeli withdrawal on Lebanon’s disarmament progress, effectively turning occupation into a bargaining tool rather than a violation of international law, Jumblatt’s memorandum read.
He stresses that the agreement “does not impose an immediate and clear obligation on Israel to withdraw, but instead ties ‘redeployment’ to verification of Lebanon’s commitments,” allowing Israeli forces to remain under conditional “arrangements.”
The memorandum further warns that provisions on verification and “model zones” could entrench a new security reality in southern Lebanon, while expanding the United States’ role from mediator to executive overseer linking military and economic assistance to compliance. It also flags Article 13 of the agreement as a key risk, cautioning it could restrict Lebanon’s ability to pursue legal action against Israeli violations by framing such efforts as hostile acts.
Jumblatt contrasts the proposal with the 1949 Armistice Agreement, which he says preserved Lebanon’s legal rights and mandated withdrawal under UN supervision, and argues the new framework may surpass even the 1983 May 17 Agreement in its impact by tying Lebanon’s internal political and military structure to external conditions.
He concludes that “the danger of the framework agreement lies not only in its provisions, but in its philosophy,” warning it effectively transforms occupation from a root cause of conflict into a conditional outcome dependent on internal Lebanese dynamics.
The document, presented on Tuesday, was formally adopted and endorsed by the Council, with a summary issued in a press statement on the session yesterday.
Source: Al-Manar English Website