Israel's buffer zone plan in Lebanon reflects regional militarisation and displacement crisis amid failed ceasefire frameworks

Lebanese and Palestinian communities have long practised sumud (steadfastness) and nonviolent resistance to displacement, yet these strategies are excluded from state-centric narratives. Traditional land tenure systems in southern Lebanon, such as the 'musha' communal ownership model, have been systematically dismantled by war and neoliberal reconstruction policies, erasing indigenous land management practices. Indigenous feminist groups in Lebanon, like 'Nasawiya,' have documented how buffer zones exacerbate gender-based violence by disrupting family structures and access to resources.

The buffer zone strategy echoes Israel's 1985 'Security Zone' in Lebanon, which led to 15 years of occupation and the displacement of 400,000 civilians, until Hezbollah's resistance forced withdrawal. The 1949 Armistice Agreements and subsequent UNSC resolutions (e.g., 425) were repeatedly violated, normalising impunity for territorial expansion. Historical parallels include the U.S. 'Indian Reservations' and South Africa's bantustans, where 'buffer zones' were used to control and dispossess Indigenous populations under the guise of security.

In Kurdish and Yazidi oral traditions, buffer zones are seen as tools of ethnic cleansing, with the 2014 Sinjar massacre serving as a recent example of how 'security' pretexts justify genocidal policies. The concept of 'haram' (sacred inviolability) in Islamic jurisprudence has been weaponised in Lebanon to justify both resistance and occupation, revealing the malleability of religious frameworks in conflict. Comparatively, in Colombia, 'humanitarian zones' established by Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities have successfully resisted paramilitary displacement, offering a cross-cultural model for civilian-led protection.

Militarised buffer zones correlate with increased civilian casualties, as seen in data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza and Syria. Studies in *Journal of Peace Research* show that 'security zones' often escalate conflict by provoking asymmetric resistance, contradicting their stated purpose. The environmental impact—deforestation, landmines, and disrupted water access—mirrors findings from *Nature Sustainability* on militarised conservation zones in Colombia and Myanmar.

Lebanese artists like Walid Raad and Akram Zaatari document the 'missing' in buffer zones through archival interventions, framing displacement as a cultural erasure. Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish's work on 'the land of the other' resonates with Lebanese musicians like Ziad Rahbani, who critique the commodification of war in tourism and media. The spiritual concept of 'barzakh' (liminal space) in Sufi thought is invoked by displaced communities to describe the psychological toll of living in perpetual uncertainty.

Scenario modelling by the *International Crisis Group* suggests that a 5km buffer zone could displace 120,000 Lebanese civilians, while a 2km zone risks provoking Hezbollah rocket attacks on Haifa. Climate projections indicate that water scarcity in the Litani River basin—already a flashpoint—will worsen with militarised control, potentially triggering intra-state water wars by 2035. Alternative futures include demilitarised 'peace parks' (e.g., the proposed Israel-Lebanon 'Blue Line' corridor) and civilian-led early warning systems, as piloted in Cyprus.

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon—denied citizenship and subject to apartheid-like laws—face triple displacement risks from buffer zones, yet their narratives are excluded from Israeli and Western media. Lebanese women's cooperatives in the south, like those supported by *ABAAD*, report increased domestic violence due to economic collapse and militarisation, but their data is sidelined in policy discussions. The Druze community, split between Lebanon and Israel, is often framed as a 'neutral' actor, obscuring their internal divisions and historical grievances.