Delegates of מדינת ישראל MEDINAT YISRAʾEL and the Republic of Lebanon signed their general armistice at Ras En Naqoura. It was the second general armistice with a neighboring Arab state, following the agreement with the Kingdom of Egypt. Article VIII made it effective immediately, without ratification. The instrument established obligations for military security while preserving political claims for a later settlement.1

What did the parties promise?

The official English text affirms the security of each party:

The right of each Party to its security and freedom from fear of attack by the armed forces of the other shall be full respected.2

Article III prohibited hostile acts by regular and irregular forces, including attacks on civilians under the other party’s control. The promise recognized Israeli security as a reciprocal obligation. Its signature does not itself establish later compliance, normal diplomatic relations or a final peace treaty.3

How were the line and military limits defined?

Article V used the existing international boundary:

The Armistice Demarcation Line shall follow the international boundary between the Lebanon and Palestine.4

Withdrawal, reduction to defensive strength, mine clearance in evacuated areas and transmission of minefield plans were due within ten days. The annex limited each side’s permitted border force to 1,500 officers and enlisted personnel, with different enumerated units. These provisions are obligations, not proof that all withdrawals or mine clearance had been completed by signing.5

What did the treaty say about prisoners and supervision?

Article VI required exchange at Ras En Naqoura under UN control within 24 hours, including prisoners facing prosecution or already sentenced. Personal effects were to be returned; the commission was to assist in locating missing military personnel and civilians. The mixed commission had five members: two appointed by each party and a UN-appointed chairman.6

JTA’s March 24 transcription instead says 48 hours for the exchange. The treaty controls the legal term. The original bulletin and actual exchange rosters must be checked before explaining the reporter’s discrepancy or counting people transferred. A seven-member commission, repeated in some notes, is contradicted by the instrument.7

Who signed, and how was the agreement reported?

The signature page names five delegates. Its source-owned spellings are Mordechai Makleff, Yenoshua Pelman, Shabtai Rosenne, Toufic Salem and J. Harb. The printed Yenoshua form must be preserved pending comparison with Hebrew delegate records. Naming only the two military leaders omits three signatories.8

The March 20 preliminary understanding preceded the final signature. JTA reported the final pact on March 24. A cited L’Orient front-page reproduction was inaccessible here; its full text has not been examined and cannot supply a Lebanese editorial position. Earlier inspected Hebrew reporting supplies the daytime signing evidence described below.9

How is this dated?

The official treaty concludes with the civil signing date March 23, 1949. The existing article preserves an earlier visual inspection of Yeremiyahu Shmueli’s Al HaMishmar report: documents were presented for signature at 11:28 a.m., before sunset. TJD converts that daytime occurrence to כ״ב באדר ה׳תש״ט 22nd 𝑜𝑓 Adar, AM 5709. That earlier image check is retained, not claimed as repeated in this ingestion. The March 20 preliminary understanding and March 24 press issues are separate dates.1011

Guided reflections

  • How did a military pact impose an obligation to respect Israeli security while leaving political claims unresolved?
  • Why must the treaty’s exchange deadline and actual prisoner transfers be documented separately?

Footnotes

  1. Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement, UNTS 42, no. 655, UNTS vol. 42, treaty 655, Articles II and VIII; printed pp. 290, 296–298. ↩
  2. Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement, UNTS 42, no. 655, Printed p. 290, Article I(3); “full” is the printed wording, compared with the facsimile. ↩
  3. Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement, UNTS 42, no. 655, Articles II–III. ↩
  4. Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement, UNTS 42, no. 655, Printed p. 292, Article V(1). ↩
  5. Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement, UNTS 42, no. 655, Article V(2–3), annex, printed pp. 292 and 300. ↩
  6. Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement, UNTS 42, no. 655, Articles VI–VII, printed pp. 292–294. ↩
  7. JTA, Israeli-lebanese Armistice Pact Signed; Israeli Delegation Head Hails Agreement, March 24 signing report, prisoner paragraph. ↩
  8. Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement, UNTS 42, no. 655, Printed p. 298 / PDF p. 12; image compared. ↩
  9. JTA, Israeli-lebanese Armistice Pact Signed; Israeli Delegation Head Hails Agreement, Issue and signing account. ↩
  10. Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement, UNTS 42, no. 655, Printed p. 298, concluding clause. ↩
  11. https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/?a=d&d=ahr19490324-01.2.2 March 24, front page, ירמיהו שמואלי, דגל לבן; prior visually checked 11.28 sentence. ↩

Works cited

  1. Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement, UNTS 42, no. 655. United Nations Treaty Series vol. 42, no. 655, 1949, pp. 288–301. Official English and French printed facsimiles; selected provisions and p. 298 signature names visually checked. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1949/10/19491006%2004-57%20PM/volume%2042-I-655-English_French.pdf. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  2. JTA, Israeli-lebanese Armistice Pact Signed; Israeli Delegation Head Hails Agreement. Historical archive transcription. Original bulletin, column and dispatch dateline uncollated; issue and occurrence dates distinguished in article. https://www.jta.org/archive/israeli-lebanese-armistice-pact-signed-israeli-delegation-head-hails-agreement. Accessed October 11, 2026.