The revolution and pacts (68). The 1949 Armistice Agreements (VI). The Lebanese front. In the absence of an alternative binding arrangement, the 1949 Lebanon-Israel General Armistice Agreement remained the only legal instrument regulating relations between the two countries. The General Armistice Agreement between Lebanon and Israel was signed in Ras Naqura (Lebanon) on March 23, 1949 by Lt. Col. Mordekhai Makleff for Israel and Lt. Col. Tawfiq Salim for Lebanon. Israel, having retreated from parts of southern Lebanon that it had occupied in the summer of 1948, agreed to fix the armistice demarcation lines along the old international borders and thus introduced greater stability to Israeli – Lebanese relations for more than twenty years. The main points of the Lebanese-Israel Armistice Agreement were: * The armistice line (Green Line), see also Blue Line (Lebanon)) was drawn along the international border. * Unlike the other agreements, there was no clause disclaiming this line as an international border, which was thereafter treated as it had been previously, as a de jure international border. * Israel withdrew its forces from 13 villages in Lebanese territory, which were occupied during the war. The Agreement provided for the exchange, under UN supervision, of ‘all prisoners of war detained by either Party and belonging to the armed forces, regular or irregular, of the other Party.' Included in the exchange were ‘prisoners of war against whom a penal prosecution may be pending, as well as those sentenced for crime or other offence.' Moreover, the Agreement provided for the formation of a Mixed Armistice Commission which would maintain headquarters at the Frontier Post north of Metulla and at the Lebanese Frontier Post at En Naqoura, and shall hold its meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary for the effective conduct of its work. The Agreement stated that the Mixed Armistice Commission ‘shall assume responsibility for locating missing persons, whether military or civilian, within the areas controlled by each Party, to facilitate their expeditious exchange. Each Party undertakes to extend to the Commission full co-operation and assistance in the discharge of this function.' Generally speaking, the functioning of the IsraelLebanon MAC remained smooth due to the more relaxed attitude of the Israeli patrols towards returnees and infiltrators. [email protected]
