Israel and the Lebanese government have agreed to the withdrawal of the Israeli army from two zones in southern Lebanon following US mediation.
The Lebanese regular army is set to take control there and, under the framework agreement, Israel and Lebanon also commit to ending their decades-long conflict.
The state of war between Israel and Lebanon has never been officially ended. Lebanon does not recognize the State of Israel but is not a party to the current conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militia, which is considered significantly more powerful than the regular Lebanese armed forces.
The Iran-backed militia did not participate in the negotiations and rejects the agreement, leading many observers to doubt it will succeed in ending the fighting.
Contrary to demands from Tehran and Hezbollah, under the framework agreement, Israel is not required to withdraw from a self-defined "security zone" in southern Lebanon as long as non-state groups such as Hezbollah have not been disarmed.
However, the agreement stipulates that the Israeli army will gradually withdraw from two zones and that the regular Lebanese army will take control there. No timeline or specific conditions for an Israeli withdrawal were established.
Hezbollah has no general right under international law to use military force against Israel. In principle, Lebanon must not to allow its territory to be used as a launching pad for armed attacks against other states, but is unable to enforce this.
The Lebanese government declared Hezbollah's military activities illegal at the start of the year - but also seeks to avoid internal tensions.
The Lebanese government classifies the area controlled by Israel, which accounts for a good 6% of the territory, as state territory occupied in violation of international law.
Israeli Middle East specialist Danny Citrinowicz called the accord an impressive diplomatic achievement, but pointed to similar optimism surrounding earlier agreements, such as the Gaza agreement, where implementation has stalled.
Citrinowicz called the agreement's central assumption, that Hezbollah will ultimately be disarmed, highly questionable. Neither the Lebanese Armed Forces nor Israel are likely to achieve this goal in the foreseeable future, he said.
"As a result, the issue of Hezbollah's weapons could become a justification for an indefinite Israeli military presence, much as unresolved security concerns have prolonged other conflicts," said the expert at the Institute of National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
Furthermore, it is unlikely that an Israeli prime minister would agree to a significant withdrawal from Lebanon, he said. The limited troop redeployment that has already been approved concerns areas that Israel could hardly have held permanently anyway.
There are hardly any signs that further withdrawals will take place under the current conditions, he said.
