Field and political developments in Southern Lebanon since the November 2024 ceasefire, and more clearly since the resumption of war in March 2026, raise a question that goes beyond the concept of a “security zone” or “temporary occupation”: Is a gradual path being established to convert parts of the occupied Lebanese territory into an area under permanent Israeli control, leading to their practical annexation or incorporation into Israel?
As of yet, sufficient data is not available to state that the entity has officially announced a final government decision to annex the whole of Southern Lebanon or a specific part of it. However, this does not eliminate the presence of strong physical and political indicators of an attempt to create permanent facts on the ground. Following the 2024 ceasefire, Israel retained five points inside Lebanese territory, subsequently established additional positions, and created a security zone inside Lebanon in 2026 known as the “Yellow Line,” accompanied by military maps encompassing areas extending several kilometers north of the border. The United Nations described the establishment of an Israeli “security zone” inside Southern Lebanon as a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as a breach of international law and Security Council resolutions.
More dangerously, military control is accompanied by a physical reshaping of the land through the destruction of homes, villages, infrastructure, agricultural land, and heritage sites, alongside the enforcement of areas to which residents are prohibited from returning. Recent reports have documented the creation of an Israeli “forward defense” zone extending between 8 and 12 kilometers inside Lebanese territory, covering dozens of villages and preventing residents from returning to many of them. Other reports have documented the scale of destruction that has rendered large areas of Southern Lebanon uninhabitable, creating a reality that serves the continuation of Israeli control even in the absence of an official annexation declaration.
Israeli political statements carry particular importance. In March 2026, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for extending Israeli borders to the Litani River and annexing parts of Southern Lebanon, while Minister of Defense Israel Katz declared that the army would remain in control of Southern Lebanon until the threat perceived by the entity is removed. These statements reveal that the idea of territorial expansion is no longer merely an external analysis, but is being proposed from within the Israeli government itself.
Accordingly, the primary danger lies not only in a declared “legal annexation,” but in a more gradual model: Military occupation → Security zone → Preventing residents from returning → Destruction of infrastructure and land → Establishing fixed military positions → Imposing new border lines → Linking withdrawal to open-ended political and security conditions → Converting temporary control into permanent control, followed later by seeking a political or legal formula to formalize it.
Legally, occupation cannot transfer sovereignty to the occupying power. The International Court of Justice confirmed in its 2024 Advisory Opinion that occupation does not grant the occupying power title to sovereignty, that annexation signifies seeking permanent control over occupied territory, and that the acquisition of territory by force is prohibited under international law. The same fundamental principles apply to Lebanese territory; occupation, security zones, or military force cannot be transformed into a source of right to sovereignty or territorial ownership.
Therefore, addressing this project, should it continue, must not wait for an official announcement of annexation. Rather, Lebanon must confront it immediately as a potential project of gradual annexation and alteration of the legal and physical status of the land—through legal documentation of facts, asserting Lebanese borders and sovereignty, turning every act of seizure, destruction, prevention of return, or military position construction into an independent legal file, and acting diplomatically within the United Nations, courts, and international bodies to prevent temporary realities from turning into acquired rights or a permanent fait accompli.
Source: Al-Manar English Website