Rafic Hariri, the principal negotiator behind the agreement
The Taif Agreement was an agreement signed on 22 October 1989 between rival parties in Lebanon that ended the Lebanese Civil War. It stipulated that Syria should withdraw from Lebanon within two years, that Lebanon was a country with "Arab identity and belonging". It also argued for mutual coexistence between the different sects of Lebanon, including Muslims and Christians, and the agreement disarmed the rival militias; however, it controversially decided to not disarm the Hezbollah "resistance forces", which fought against Israel in South Lebanon, and Fatah, Hamas, and the PFLP-GC were not disarmed either due to not being Lebanese groups. The agreement ended the civil war, but the Syrians did not withdraw until 2005 (by which time the negotiator, future Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, had been assassinated), and Hezbollah continued launching terrorist attacks against Israel from Lebanon.