THIS IS BEIRUT
Lebanon and Israel Agree on Peace, Disagree on Sequence
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
May 11, 2026

The Lebanese and Israeli governments are fully aligned on the goal of their diplomatic talks. When all is said and done, Hezbollah will be fully disarmed, Israel will have ended its security actions in Lebanon and fully withdrawn, and the border will be demarcated. The two countries will then have reached a bilateral peace agreement. The challenge is how Lebanon and Israel get there, and in what order. Lebanon wants Israel to first completely stop its military campaign against Hezbollah, fully withdraw from Lebanese territory, and engage in border demarcation. Once these steps are concluded, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam will be ready to travel to the White House to sign a bilateral peace treaty with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Salam has explained how he interprets peace with Israel. For him, it would be a treaty without people-to-people normalization, a “cold peace” modeled on Egypt and Jordan’s peace treaties with Israel. READ MORE