Analysis-Israel-Lebanon deal may entrench stalemate rather than end war, analysts say

AI Summary

A security deal between Israel and Lebanon may reinforce a stalemate rather than resolve the conflict involving Hezbollah. The key obstacle is Hezbollah's refusal to disarm and the Lebanese government's lack of enforcement power.

By Samia Nakhoul BEIRUT, June 29 (Reuters) - A security deal between Israel and Lebanon risks entrenching a stalemate rather than resolving Israel's underlying conflict with Hezbollah by tying Israel's pullout from southern Lebanon to the Iran-aligned group's disarmament, a condition regional analysts and politicians say is unattainable. At its core is a bargain few see as workable: Hezbollah has flatly rejected disarmament, and no Lebanese government has the power to enforce it.