Human rights organisations have raised concerns over the Lebanon-Israel framework agreement , warning that it "threatens to betray war crimes victims in Lebanon" due to its vague legal language that appears to be aimed at preventing citizens from pursuing justice , while legitimising an indefinite occupation of Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
In a press release issued on Friday , a number of rights and press freedom groups say that parts of the text, signed in Washington on 26 June, "appear to be aimed at preventing victims of serious international crimes from seeking justice before international courts."
The report points specifically to Clause 13, which commits both the governments of Lebanon and Israel to cease "all hostile or adverse actions in international political or legal forums".
This particular segment could be interpreted as preventing Lebanon from having recourse to international courts, including the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.
Analysts have also pointed to the clause’s conflict with international law, which commits countries to certain legal obligations vis-à-vis pursuing accountability for serious international crimes on their territories.
Since the war started in October 2023, rights groups and UN experts have pointed to documented patterns of war crimes by Israeli forces, including direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects, indiscriminate strikes, unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas, and the forced displacement and unlawful transfer of tens of thousands of residents from southern Lebanon.
At least 8,700 people, including 569 children and 357 medical workers, have been killed in Lebanon since then, according to the country’s health ministry.
The statement therefore argues that by signing such agreement, the Lebanese government has essentially forfeited the right for victims of such apparent war crimes to pursue legal avenues.
"Time and time again, we have seen civilians in Lebanon pay the price for successive cycles of conflict and serious violations and crimes under international law with no accountability," Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said in a statement. "Victims of war crimes and other violations deserve justice. Any agreement that fails to center their rights to justice, accountability and reparations will falter underneath the very impunity it builds."
At the same time, the report highlights the discrepancy in holding parties to account as the agreement does not appear to commit Israel to the same standards, given how there is no legal language that specifically halts any initiatives for Israel to pursue apparent war crimes committed by Hezbollah in international forums. Hezbollah rejected the agreement from the onset , warning that any attempt by Lebanese authorities to implement it would trigger a "civil war" backed by the United States.
While the framework agreement acknowledges the "safe return" of civilians to southern Lebanon, it in practice accepts the prolonged, potentially open‑ended displacement of tens of thousands of people by tying both return and reconstruction to conditions that must first be "confirmed", the rights groups argue in the press release.
They say the deal’s clauses are silent on justice and reparation for victims of serious violations of international humanitarian law, including those unlawfully transferred and those whose homes and agricultural land have been unlawfully destroyed.
"The Lebanese government has conceded a right that is not its right: the right of the victims to pursue and hold the perpetrators accountable," said Elsy Moufarrej, President of the Union of Journalists in Lebanon. "This is the right of the people who lost their loved ones, whose homes and memories were destroyed. This is the right of those who performed their duties despite the dangers, like journalists and emergency medical workers." Hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced in Lebanon , with the Israeli military continuing to occupy nearly 600 kilometres of land in the country – effectively preventing residents from returning.
The list of signatories of Wednesday’s press release includes Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Lebanese Centre for Human Rights, Legal Agenda, Reporters Without Borders, and the Union of Journalists in Lebanon.