Contested Lebanon Israel, Iran, and US Strategy in a Fractured State

On June 26, Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement brokered by the United States, the first bilateral understanding between Jerusalem and Beirut since the May 17 Agreement of 1983. The two governments committed to implement security measures under which the Israel Defense Forces would withdraw from southern Lebanon and be replaced by units of the Lebanese Armed Forces, which would oversee Hezbollah’s disarmament.Does this diplomatic breakthrough open the door to a new chapter for the Lebanese people? Can the Lebanese government muster the will to confront Hezbollah? Or does the consensus-based mode of governance in Beirut doom the possibility of real change? Experts from leading Washington think tanks will come together at Hudson Institute to discuss the prospects for stability in Lebanon and for future Israel-Lebanon relations.