Work underway to form new Lebanon cabinet before ceasefire deadline: report

Under the ceasefire agreement, Israel has 60 days - until January 26 - to completely pull its forces out of south Lebanon which it stormed during the war.
3 min read
18 January, 2025
Government formations in Lebanon have often taken months due to bartering among the country's sectarian ruling class [Getty/file photo]

Efforts are ongoing to form a new cabinet in Lebanon before the deadline for Israeli troops to withdraw from the country’s south later this month, local media reported Saturday.

"Work is underway to finalise the cabinet formation before 26 January," the end of the 60-day deadline given to Lebanon, Hezbollah and Israel to implement the terms of the ceasefire deal that ended the recent war, sources familiar with the matter told Lebanon’s LBCI broadcaster.

Former head of the International Court of Justice Nawaf Salam was nominated as prime minister by a majority of lawmakers at the start of this week and has been consulting parliamentary blocs to form a new cabinet for the crisis-ridden country.

Salam said Friday the formation of a new government would not be delayed, indicating a very positive atmosphere in discussions over its composition.

Government formation discussions are often protracted in Lebanon, sometimes taking months, due to bartering among its sectarian factions over cabinet positions. But Salam and newly elected President Joseph Aoun have vowed to work quickly to rebuild the country’s battered institutions after years of an unprecedented economic crisis and the recent war with Israel.

'Israel must leave'

Reports have emerged since Salam’s appointment that the new cabinet will see light before Tel Aviv is expected to pull its forces out of southern Lebanon, as the government faces the arduous challenge of making sure Israel commits to the agreement.

Meeting with UN chief Antonio Guterres on Saturday, Aoun said that Israel must withdraw from his country's south by the 26 January deadline.

The president’s remarks follow a speech by Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, who accused Israel of hundreds of ceasefire violations, warning it against testing "our patience" and calling on the Lebanese state to be "firm" in its response.

Cross-border fighting erupted between the Lebanese Shia militant group and Israel in October 2023 over the Gaza offensive, but spiralled into an all-out war in September last year, and Israeli forces crossed into southern Lebanon on 1 October. The fighting ended with the 27 November ceasefire deal that is in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Under the deal, the Lebanese army has 60 days to deploy alongside peacekeepers from the UNIFIL mission in south Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws.

At the same time, Hezbollah is required to pull its forces north of the Litani River, around 30 kilometers from the border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure it has in the south.

The Lebanese army has reportedly already been dismantling Hezbollah’s installations, and the Israeli army has so far pulled out from south Lebanon’s western sector – with forces still present along the border in the central and eastern sectors.

Visiting south Lebanon on Friday, Guterres had called for Israel to end its military operations and occupation in the south.

He also said UN peacekeepers had found more than 100 weapons caches belonging "to Hezbollah or other armed groups".

Israel has continued to blow up homes in southern Lebanese border communities, as well as conduct strikes across the region as well as the border with Syria. It claims it is targeting Hezbollah personnel and infrastructure, vowing to never allow the group to rebuild itself.

(Agencies contributed to this report)

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