HUGE: Lebanon Signs Deal With Israel; Recognizes Israel as a State

The formal recognition is a huge development.

Netanyahu: ‘Historic’ understandings with Lebanon a ‘massive blow’ to Hezbollah, Iran

Mark Dubowitz: Lebanon has recognized Israel as a sovereign state and agreed to end the state of war. That would have been unthinkable without U.S. and Israeli successes against the Islamic Republic in Iran and Hezbollah—and @SecRubio’s diplomacy. Many obstacles remain, but this is a hopeful sign in a region that rarely offers one (Dubowitz).

What spurred it? A shared fear of Iran.

Barak Ravid at Axios: The framework brokered by the Trump administration is the most significant political agreement between Israel and Lebanon in four decades — but all parties involved know the vision of peace it lays out may never materialize. Mixed with the skepticism is deep concern