Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement about “working in Lebanon according to rules agreed upon with Washington and the Lebanese government” raised many questions inside Lebanon, after Representative Jamil Al-Sayyid raised the issue publicly on the “X” platform.
In his blog post, Al-Sayyid drew attention to the fact that Netanyahu “officially” announced the existence of rules regulating operations in Lebanon, and raised questions about the nature of these understandings and whether the Lebanese government approved them, demanding that they be disclosed to the public.
Al-Sayed wondered whether these “rules” include allowing Israel to move in the area known as the Yellow Zone, or restricting Hezbollah’s movements there, considering that this issue requires an official clarification to remove any ambiguity.
These opinions come in light of the ongoing field escalation in southern Lebanon, where air strikes and military operations continue, with increasing talk about secret understandings that regulate clashes and prevent their development into a comprehensive war.
In this regard, observers believe that any potential “rules of engagement” may be linked to diplomatic efforts led by the United States, with the aim of controlling the escalation between Lebanon and “Israel”, especially in light of the ongoing efforts to stabilize the ceasefire and avoid the expansion of the scope of the confrontation.
Some link these statements to broader discussions that include land and sea border issues, in addition to indirect security arrangements, which raises an internal political debate about the extent to which the Lebanese authorities are aware of or participate in these understandings.
These questions remain pending, awaiting any official Lebanese response that clarifies the truth of what Netanyahu said, and determines whether there are actually agreed-upon rules, or whether the statements come in a political or media context related to the current escalation.
