It contained numerous clauses detailing security cooperation between Lebanon and Israel designed to prevent the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and other groups from infiltrating the border areas.
When peace talks between Israel and Syria broke down over the nature of a withdrawal on the Golan Heights, Barak decided to pull out without an agreement, causing many, especially in the Arab world, to view this as a victory for Hezbollah, which had been waging a long guerrilla campaign against Israeli forces.
Hezbollah refers to this as a reason for continued armed resistance, and occasionally stages raids into this area; Israel responds with shelling and counter-raids in the Shebaa Farms or on other points along the border.
In early 2006, after the so-called Cedar Revolution, parts of the Lebanese anti-Syrian block - such as Druze leader Walid Jumblatt — started officially questioning Lebanon's demands for the Shebaa.
He argued that the area is in fact Syrian, and that this issue is used by Syria and Hezbollah as a pretext for the latter to maintain its status as an armed resistance organization outside the Lebanese Army.
This led to heated debate, with Jumblatt opposed by Hezbollah, Amal and other pro-Syrian Lebanese groups, while other parties tried to find a middle ground.