Naim Berjawi
16 May 2026•Update: 16 May 2026
Hezbollah on Saturday urged Lebanese authorities not to pursue “deviant choices” with Israel and to abandon “illusions” about the possibility of reaching a peace agreement with it.
The group’s remarks came in a statement marking the anniversary of the May 17 Agreement, a 1983 security accord between Lebanon and Israel that called for ending the state of war between the two countries, establishing a security zone in southern Lebanon, and setting a timetable for Israeli withdrawal from areas it occupied at the time.
The agreement was scrapped less than a year later by the Lebanese government following political pressure from former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and his allies, including Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.
Hezbollah said the 43rd anniversary of the “agreement of humiliation and shame” comes amid attempts to revive “something even more dangerous and deviant than the May 17 agreement” through talk of a “full and comprehensive peace agreement between the Lebanese authorities and the Israeli entity.”
It said Lebanese authorities had “drifted far away” and were treating Israel “as though it were a peaceful and recognized entity.”
The group added that statements by Israeli officials about settlement projects in Lebanese territory confirm Israel’s “longstanding ambitions toward our land, water, and natural resources.”
Hezbollah also said Lebanon’s acceptance of direct negotiations would “serve to strengthen and increase Israeli gains at the expense of Lebanon and its people.”
The group urged Lebanese authorities to “stop the series of free concessions and the scenario of abandoning rights and the dignity of the nation" and to “abandon the illusions of the possibility of reaching a peace agreement.”
On Friday, the US announced a 45-day extension of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon following what it described as “highly productive” talks held in Washington over two days.
US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the State Department will resume the political negotiations track on June 2-3.
Israel has continued daily violations of the ceasefire declared on April 17, carrying out strikes and demolitions in Lebanon that have caused casualties and destruction.
The Lebanese delegation that participated in the talks said trilateral negotiations with the US and Israel had achieved “tangible diplomatic progress” for Lebanon.
Lebanese and Israeli delegations previously held two rounds of talks in Washington on April 14 and 23 as a prelude to peace negotiations.
Since March 2, 2026, Israel has waged a broad offensive on Lebanon that has killed and wounded thousands of people and displaced more than 1 million others, according to official figures.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul
