Reasons For The Collapse of The Agreement
The agreement called for the Lebanese Army to take over Israeli positions. Because the army collapsed in February 1984, Lebanon could not keep their side of the agreement.
The agreement met strong opposition from Lebanese Muslims and in the Arab world, and it was portrayed as an imposed surrender. The conclusion of separate peace with Israel was (and is) a taboo subject in the Arab world, and Egypt's peace agreement at Camp David had left the country ostracized and temporarily expelled from the Arab League. Syria's opposition to the agreement was vocal, and by refusing to move its troops from Lebanese soil, Damascus effectively torpedoed its implementation, since Israeli withdrawal was contingent on Syria doing the same.
Israel insisted on the treaty's implementation, and threatened that it would impose its terms with or without Lebanese consent, but Lebanese public opinion protested — and more importantly, the fragile civil war peace process started to unravel.
Read more about this topic: May 17 Agreement
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