Lebanon’s deal with Israel sparks backlash

{"text":[[{"start":8,"text":"Lebanon’s deal with Israel to end the conflict and disarm Hizbollah has sparked fierce backlash in the country, heightening fears of civil unrest as the Shia militant group and its allies condemned the agreement as “a humiliation” that would not be implemented."}],[{"start":23.4,"text":"The country’s powerful speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, a key ally of the militant group, warned the deal risked deepening divides in Lebanon, where intra-communal tensions are simmering following more than two years of conflict with Israel."}],[{"start":38.05,"text":"Berri, the country’s most senior Shia statesman, was quoted by Lebanon’s Al-Modon newspaper on Monday as saying the agreement “was designed to sow discord among the Lebanese” and said he supported the budding “political movement against it”."}],[{"start":51.849999999999994,"text":"The agreement “will not stand. It will not be implemented”, Berri was quoted as saying in a separate interview with pro-Hizbollah newspaper Al-Akhbar. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":61.39999999999999,"text":"His comments follow condemnation from Hizbollah’s leader Naim Qassem, who called the agreement a “grave mistake”."}],[{"start":67.8,"text":"“The authorities are legitimising the occupation remaining for years, which could even lead to annexation of this land” by Israel, he said in a statement."}],[{"start":77.75,"text":"The framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel was brokered by Washington and signed by representatives of both governments on Friday."}],[{"start":86,"text":"It lays out a pathway for Lebanon’s military to eventually be the sole authority in southern Lebanon, “pending the verified disarmament of” non-state armed groups — a reference to Hizbollah, which rejects all attempts to disarm it. "}],[{"start":99.1,"text":"This process would begin with two so-called pilot zones, where the Lebanese Armed Forces will deploy — a process designed to pave the way for Israel’s military to “progressively redeploy out of” Lebanon. Israeli troops continue to occupy a self-declared security zone in southern Lebanon, which stretches as much as 10km into Lebanese territory."}],[{"start":119.94999999999999,"text":"The word “withdrawal” does not appear in the text of the agreement, which also does not include timelines or guarantees for Israeli troops to pull out. A security annex that includes details of the deployment of the Lebanese army and withdrawal of Israeli troops was not made public."}],[{"start":138.7,"text":"The agreement is separate from the interim deal signed last week between the US and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend a ceasefire between the two sides by 60 days."}],[{"start":149.79999999999998,"text":"That deal mandated an end to the conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hizbollah, one of Tehran’s key conditions for ending the wider regional war."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":159.1,"text":"But Beirut has been wary of Tehran negotiating on its behalf and has sought to counteract Iranian influence by undertaking direct talks with Israel under pressure from Washington."}],[{"start":169.6,"text":"Those began in April, despite reticence by Israel and over fierce objections from Hizbollah, which was not party to the talks and has likened them to treason."}],[{"start":179.35,"text":"The unprecedented talks between enemy states culminated in Friday’s deal, which Qassem contended ceded leverage gained in the deal Iran reached with the US."}],[{"start":189.1,"text":"Government officials applauded the deal, saying it sought to secure Israel’s withdrawal from all Lebanese territory and restore Lebanese sovereignty over it."}],[{"start":198.2,"text":"In a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Saturday, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun said he hoped Washington would press Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":208.14999999999998,"text":"Political leaders who oppose Hizbollah and Iran, including leaders of Christian political parties, praised the agreement. They echoed comments by Israeli officials who framed the deal as a blow to Iran and Hizbollah, claiming it would deny both actors a role in Lebanon."}],[{"start":224.39999999999998,"text":"But criticism of the agreement extended beyond Hizbollah supporters to even its fiercest critics, with independent politicians and analysts raising concerns about its terms. "}],[{"start":234.54999999999998,"text":"Human rights activists, legal scholars and civil society warned that a vaguely worded clause — stipulating that both parties “refrain from any hostile or antagonistic action in international political and legal fora” — could prevent victims from pursuing allegations of Israeli war crimes through domestic and international courts."}],[{"start":253.99999999999997,"text":"“How can you accept such a clause?” Halime El Kaakour, an independent Sunni MP and a professor of international law, asked in a statement addressed to Lebanon’s president and prime minister. "}],[{"start":265.65,"text":"“You are denying justice to the thousands of victims of war crimes, while in the very same text speaking of ‘peace?’! Don’t you realise that there can be no peace without justice?”"}],[{"start":276.95,"text":"Other critics, meanwhile, fear that Lebanon’s armed forces would need to confront Hizbollah militarily to fulfil the conditions of the agreement — something successive governments have sought to avoid."}],[{"start":288.2,"text":"Hizbollah supporters took to Beirut’s streets on Friday in protest, blocking major roads with burning tyres, and roaming the capital on motorcycles waving Hizbollah and Iranian flags."}],[{"start":300.9,"text":"The latest escalation in Lebanon broke out on March 2, days after the US-Israeli killing of Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, when Hizbollah fired on Israel for the first time in 15 months"}],[{"start":316,"text":"More than 4,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since, and about 1mn displaced. Some 30 IDF soldiers and several Israeli civilians have been killed."}],[{"start":327.15,"text":"Despite a nominal ceasefire that has calmed the fighting over the past 10 days, the Israeli military has conducted several air strikes on what it says is Hizbollah infrastructure. On Sunday, Hizbollah militants killed an Israeli soldier in the southern Lebanese village of Deir Siryan, Israel’s military said. Hizbollah did not comment."}],[{"start":347.84999999999997,"text":"In a statement on Monday, Hizbollah said it had adhered to the ceasefire “until now” but said it reserved the right to “defend its homeland and its people”."}],[{"start":363.84999999999997,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782782797_3419.mp3"}