The only obstacle to peace and normalization between Israel and Lebanon is Hezbollah, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Tuesday night amid the restarting of Jerusalem-Beirut negotiations for the first time since 1993.
“The direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will resume in Washington,” on Wednesday, said Sa’ar at a reception event for ambassadors to Israel and the diplomatic corps in honor of Israel’s 78th Independence Day at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. “I call on the Government of Lebanon: Let’s work together against the terror state that Hezbollah built in your territory. This cooperation is needed by you even more than by us. It requires moral clarity and the courage to take risks,” he continued.
Israel’s top diplomat called his country’s recent talks with the Lebanese government “historic,” adding that Lebanon has become a “failed state” due to the “Iranian occupation through Hezbollah.
“But this also leads to a conclusion: Hezbollah is a common enemy of Israel and Lebanon. Just as it threatens Israel’s security, it harms Lebanon’s sovereignty and threatens its future. We don’t have any serious disagreements with Lebanon. There are a few minor border disputes, that can be solved,” he said.
He went on to say that Israel is a nation that seeks peace but that it has made errors in the past in this pursuit, resulting in the erosion of its security in light of withdrawals and concessions.
“We are no longer willing to take irresponsible risks to our security... One of the lessons of [the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks]: our citizens will no longer be the first line against the Jihadists,” he continued.
Israel has no option but to be a strong country, he said, “because if we’re not, we simply won’t exist.”
Meanwhile, soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces’ 300th Brigade on Wednesday arrested a member of Hezbollah’s “Radwan Force” in Southern Lebanon, according to the military. The operative was planning to carry out a terrorist attack against IDF forces in the immediate future, the army said.
“Shortly after the identification, the terrorist surrendered and was arrested by the forces, and he was transferred for further investigation by Unit 504,” the Israeli military added, referring to an IDF military intelligence unit.
Also in Lebanon, a second French soldier from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon succumbed to his wounds on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said on X.
The soldier’s peacekeeping unit was attacked over the weekend in an incident which the French president linked to Hezbollah.
The first casualty was identified as Staff Sgt. Florian Montorio.
