May 17 Agreement

POLITICAL BACKGROUND

The agreement was signed by representatives of the United States , Israel and Lebanon on May 17 , 1983 , during the Lebanese Civil War . Part of Lebanon was at this time under Israeli Occupation , and other parts under Syrian Occupation . Lebanese President Amin Gemayel had recently been elected with US and Israeli sponsorship, and was seen by some on the mainly Muslim opposition side as a collaborator with the occupying forces, rather than as a legitimate President. On the other hand, many on the other, mainly Christian , side backed the government of Gemayel, arguing that its close relations to the US could help create peace and restore Lebanese Sovereignty .

TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT

The agreement terminated the state of war between Israel and Lebanon that had lasted since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and provided for a staged withdrawal of Israeli forces, on the condition of the establishment of a joint "security zone" in South Lebanon, along the border area. It contained numerous clauses detailing security cooperation between Lebanon and Israel designed to prevent the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and other groups from infiltrating the border areas.

The full text of the agreement can be found below, under External links.

REASONS FOR THE COLLAPSE OF THE AGREEMENT

The agreement met strong opposition from Lebanese Muslims and in the Arab World , and it was portrayed as an imposed surrender. The conclusion of separate peace with Israel was (and is) a Taboo subject in the Arab world, and Egypt 's peace agreement at Camp David had left the country ostracized and temporarily expelled from the Arab League . Syria 's opposition to the agreement was vocal, and by refusing to move its troops from Lebanese soil, Damascus effectively torpedoed its implementation, since Israeli withdrawal was contingent on Syria doing the same.

Israel insisted on the treaty's implementation, and threatened that it would impose its terms with or without Lebanese consent, but Lebanese public opinion protested - and more importantly, the fragile civil war peace process started to unravel.

The Lebanese Parliament ratified the agreement, but President Gemayel dragged his feet. He eventually decided in 1984 not to sign the accord, and it collapsed.

THE SITUATION TODAY

Israel eventually unilaterally evacuated its foothold in South Lebanon in 2000, after a long Insurgency by the Shi'a Islamist Hizbullah Militia . Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak had pledged to pull out of Southern Lebanon as part of his election campaign, though it is widely believed that he did so due to a belief that he would be able to make peace with Syria before the evactuation, thereby removing the main obstacle to Israeli-Lebenese peace.

When peace talks between Israel and Syria broke down over the nature of a withdrawal on the Golan Heights , Barak decided to pull-out without an agreement, causing many, especially in the Arab World , to view this as a victory for the Shi'a Islamist Hizbullah Militia , which had been waging a long Guerrilla campaign against Israeli forces. As a result, Lebanon and Israel formally remain at war, and Lebanon officially refuses to recognize Israel as a state.

Shebaa farms

Whereas a Cease-fire is in effect along most of the border, which is mostly calm except for continual Israeli aerial overflights and infrequent skirmishes, Lebanon considers the Shebaa Farms area, adjacent to the Golan Heights , to be under continued Israeli Occupation . Hizbullah refers to this as a reason for continued armed resistance, and occasionally stages raids into this area; Israel responds with shelling and counter-raids in the Shebaa Farms or on other points along the border. These exchanges occasionally produces a flare-up in fighting, but there have been no major combat operations across the border since 2000.

The government backs the Lebanese demands for the Shebaa, but refuses to provide maps documenting Lebanese ownership of the area.

In 2005, the Syrian government reportedly considered formally ceding the Shebaa Farms to Lebanon, but no such action was taken. In early 2006, after the so-called Cedar Revolution , parts of the Lebanese anti-Syrian block - such as Druze leader Walid Jumblatt - started officially questioning Lebanon's demands for the Shebaa. He argued that the area is in fact Syrian, and that this issue is used by Syria and Hizbullah as a pretext for the latter to maintain its status as an armed resistance organization outside the Lebanese army. This led to heated debate, with Jumblatt opposed by Hizbullah, Amal and other pro-Syrian Lebanese groups, while other parties tried to find a middle ground.

EXTERNAL LINKS

May 17 Agreement - From a web site of the Lebanese Forces

Information About

May 17 Agreement