âAccording to Karim Emile Bitar, the ceasefire âis completely meaningless and detached from the reality on the groundâ.
Despite direct talks between the two countries â a first in decades â Mr Bitar said the agreement âremains ink on paperâ.
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âIt is violated daily, hundreds of civilians have died, and it seems to be an Israeli strategy aimed at buying time and helping Donald Trump in his communication strategy so that he can claim serious negotiations are under way,â he told @TheNationalNews
Yet, according to the analyst, âfor these negotiations to be fruitful, first of all, we would need a genuine ceasefire that Israel would respect and an Israeli commitment to withdraw from Lebanese territoryâ.
Israel continues to hold positions in southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on April 16, when the initial ceasefire was signed, that Israeli troops would remain in what he described as âan expanded security zoneâ in the south of the country.
For the ceasefire to hold, what is also needed is âsupport for the Lebanese Armed Forces, so it can carry on its mission assigned by the Lebanese state to establish sovereignty across the entire territory and proceed with the disarmament of all non-state actorsâ, Mr Bitar added.â
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