Lebanon’s presidency on Wednesday announced that former ambassador Simon Karam has been appointed to lead the Lebanese delegation to the Military Technical Committee formed under the 2024 Cessation of Hostilities Declaration.

According to the statement, President Joseph Aoun made the appointment “in line with his inaugural speech and in accordance with his constitutional authority to safeguard Lebanon’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and paramount national interests.”

The decision follows U.S. efforts to push the committee’s work forward. Washington chairs the “Lebanon Military Technical Committee,” created on Nov. 27, 2024, as part of the agreement aimed at stabilizing the border after months of rising tensions.

According to the statement, the United States informed Beirut that Israel had agreed to include a non-military representative in its own delegation; a move that allowed Lebanon to reciprocate.

Israel named Uri Resnick, an academic with a Ph.D. in international relations from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as its civilian representative on the oversight body.

President Aoun made the decision after consulting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, the presidency said.

Karam is set to attend the committee meeting scheduled for today in Naqoura, the southern border town where UNIFIL regularly convenes discussions between Lebanon and Israel.