Foreign relations of Lebanon

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Lebanon

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Lebanon

Constitution President Émile Lahoud Prime Minister Fouad Siniora Present government Parliament Speaker Political parties Elections Governorates Districts Foreign relations

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The foreign policy of Lebanon reflects its geographic location, the composition of its population, and its reliance on commerce and trade. Lebanon's foreign policy is heavily influenced by Syria, which maintains hegemony. The framework for relations was first codified in May 1991, when Lebanon and Syria signed a treaty of mutual cooperation. This treaty came out of the Taif Agreement, which stipulated that "Lebanon is linked to Syria by distinctive ties deriving strength from kinship, history, and common interests." The Lebanese-Syria treaty calls for "coordination and cooperation between the two countries" that would serve the "interests of the two countries within the framework of sovereignty and independence of each." Numerous agreements on political, economic, security, and judicial affairs have followed over the years.

Lebanon concluded negotiations on an association agreement with the European Union in late 2001, and both sides initialed the accord in January 2002. Lebanon also has bilateral trade agreements with several Arab states and is in the process of accession to the World Trade Organization.

Lebanon traditionally enjoys warm relations with other pro-Western Arab states. At various times, however, it has seen tension with Egypt, Syria, Iraq, the Palestinians, and Libya. In March 2002, in honor of the expulsion of Israeli troops from the South of the country, the Arab League met in Lebanon for the first time since 1967. Lebanon also is a member of the Organization of Islamic Conference. Hizbullah maintains a close relationship with Iran, largely centered on Shi'a Muslim links and animosity towards Israel.

Israel and Lebanon have never had normal economic or diplomatic relations, but until the 1970s Lebanon's border with Israel was the calmest frontier between Israel and any Arab league member state. Lebanon was the first Arab league nation to signal a desire for an armistice treaty with Israel in 1949 and Lebanon did not participate in the 1967 or 1973 wars in any significant way. For humanitarian and public relations motives, in 1976 Israel unilaterally initiated a "Good Fence" program where Lebanese could enter Israel for medical, tourism, and work reasons. The program was suspended in 1981 and the de facto Israel-Lebanon border (wherever Israel's zone of control ends) has been sealed against civilian travel since then. Lebanon still adheres to the Arab League Boycott. Lebanon does not recognize Israel and forbids its citizens any contact with Israelis.

Christian Maronites were Israel's allies in the Lebanese Civil War. After the PLO was ejected from Beirut in the summer of 1982, Bashir Gemayel flew to the Israeli coastal town of Nahariya to talk with Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon. Began and Sharon proposed that Israel and Lebanon establish full diplomatic relations, but Gemayel proposed a kind of formal non-aggression pact. When Ariel Sharon reminded Gemayel that Israel controlled most of Lebanon at that time and that it would be wise to follow Israel's instructions Gemayel held out his hands and replied "Put the handcuffs on. I am not your vassal." Gemayel left Israel without making any formal agreement and he was assassinated two weeks later.

After the assassination of Bashir Gemayel, Israel and Lebanon signed an agreement on May 17, 1983 which was a peace treaty in all but name.[1] Lebanon signed the agreement under American and Israeli pressure, but it was opposed by Syria. The agreement was conditional on Syrian withdrawal, which did not occur until 2006. Much of the content of the treaty was contained in secret protocols and memoranda, and it did not win expected Jordanian and Saudi endorsement. The Lebanese legislature ratified the treaty by a margin of 80 votes, but in a very weak and unstable domestic position President Amin Gemayel abrogated the peace treaty on March 5, 1984 under unrelenting Syrian pressure, after the US marines withdrew and after Israel had begun withdrawing from Lebanon.

The success of the First Persian Gulf War created new opportunities for Middle East peacemaking. In October 1991, under the sponsorship of the United States and the then Soviet Union, Middle East peace talks were held in Madrid, Spain, where Israel and a majority of its Arab neighbors conducted direct bilateral negotiations to seek a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace based on UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 (and 425 on Lebanon) and the concept of "land for peace." Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and representatives of the Palestinians continued negotiating until the Oslo interim peace accords were concluded between Israel and the Palestinians in September 1993 and Jordan and Israel signed an agreement in October 1994. In March 1996, Syria and Israel held another round of Madrid talks; the Lebanon track did not reconvene.

In early April 1996, Israel conducted its military operation "Grapes of Wrath" in response to Hezbollah's resistance actions on Israeli military bases in south Lebanon. The 16-day operation caused hundreds of thousands of civilians in south Lebanon to flee their homes. On April 18, several Israeli shells struck refugee compounds, killing 102 civilians sheltered there. Israel expressed regret for the deaths but blamed Hezbollah for using the area as a place for artillery. In the "April Understanding" concluded on April 26, Israel and Hezbollah committed to avoid targeting civilians and using populated areas to launch attacks. The Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group, co-chaired by France and the United States, with Syria also represented, was set up to implement the Understanding and assess reports of violations.

Throughout the 1990s discontent had been growing in Israel about the Lebanon occupation. Discontent increased as a result of a 1997 helicopter crash that killed 73 Israeli soldiers bound for Lebanon. Ehud Barak campaigned for prime minister on a platform of withdrawing from Lebanon. Finally, on May 23, 2000, the Israeli military carried out a total withdrawal of Israeli troops from the south and the Bekaa valley, effectively ending 22 years of occupation. The SLA collapsed and about 6,000 SLA members and their families fled the country, although more than 2,200 had returned by December 2001. With the withdrawal of Israeli forces, many in Lebanon began calling for a review of the continued presence of Syrian troops, estimated in late 2001 at approximately 25,000.

On June 16, 2000, the UN Security Council adopted the report of the Secretary General verifying Israeli compliance with UNSCR 425 and the withdrawal of Israeli troops to their side of the demarcated Lebanese-Israeli line of separation (the "Blue Line") mapped out by UN cartographers. (The international border between Lebanon and Israel is still to be determined in the framework of a peace agreement.) In August, the Government of Lebanon deployed over 1,000 police and soldiers to the former security zone, but Hezbollah also maintained observation posts and conducted patrols along the Blue Line. While Lebanon and Syria agreed to respect the Blue Line, both have registered objections and continue to argue that Israel has not fully withdrawn from Lebanese soil. As regional tension escalated with the Palestinian intifada in September 2000, Hezbollah cited Blue Line discrepancies when it reengaged Israel on October 7, taking three Israeli soldiers captive in an area known as Shebaa Farms. This largely unpopulated Israeli controlled territory along the border between Lebanon and Syria is claimed by Lebanon, although the United Nations and most of the world community, including Israel, agree that Shebaa Farms is part of Syria^[1]. Hezbollah sought to use the captives for leverage to release Lebanese prisoners whom Israel has admitted were taken for political purposes.

Since the beginning of the Cedar Revolution hopes have decreased of an Israel-Lebanon peace treaty. In a May 2005 Newsweek interview Saad Hariri said "We would like to have peace with Israel. We don't want wars. We hope that the peace process moves ahead with us, with the Syrians, with all the Arab countries," but he added that Lebanon would not sign a separate peace treaty as Jordan and Egypt have done. Other Lebanese leaders draw an even harder line. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizbullah proclaims "Death to Israel" and promises the "liberation" of Jerusalem. It is highly unlikely that Lebanon will sign a peace treaty with Israel before Syria, as Syria's influence on Lebanese politics is still strong.

Disputes - international: Israeli troops in southern Lebanon between June 1982 and May 2000; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976 at Lebanese government request. Syrian troops left in April of 2005. Lebanon claims Israeli controlled Shebaa Farms in southern Syria.

Illicit drugs: inconsequential producer of hashish; some heroin processing mostly in the Bekaa valley; a Lebanese/Syrian eradication campaign started in the early 1990s has practically eliminated the opium and cannabis crops. A 2002/2003 campaign has eliminated nearly all hashish production

The Lebanese Government was instrumental in the thwarting of a terrorist plot on the US. Al- Queda terrorist had planned to attack the transit tunnels under the Hudson River in New York. The FBI was aided in arresting and obtaining the confession from Assem Hamoud on April 27, 2006.

[edit] References and footnotes

[edit] External links

• 1983 Israel-Lebanon agreement
• Embassy of Lebanon in Washington DC

Representations of foreign nations in Lebanon

• Delegation of the European Commission in Lebanon
• United States Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon