Lebanese Druze politician says country should ‘permanently abandon’ war on Israel
Hezbollah ally Wiam Wahhab, who heads the minor Arab Unification Party, says ‘the nation does not want war’ and the only victor in the region is Netanyahu
Wiam Wahhab, a Druze Lebanese politician and former minister, said in an interview on Sunday that Lebanon should end its long-running fight against the State of Israel and pursue normalization.
Wahhab, the founder and head of the minor Tawhid Party, or Arab Unification Party, is considered an ally of the Hezbollah terrorist group, which holds considerable power in Lebanon, and of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
In an interview with the local al-Jadeed TV station, Wahhab said, “We must permanently abandon this mentality of war with Israel,” according to translation from the L’Orient Today Lebanese news outlet.
Wahhab, who served as environment minister in Lebanon from 2004 to 2005, said he would be willing to strike a “deal with the devil,” meaning Israel, in order to ensure the safety of his Druze community. The Druze population in Lebanon is thought to make up about three percent of the population. Wahhab’s party does not currently hold any seats in parliament.
“The Lebanese have sacrificed more than 75 years of their lives for the Palestinian cause. This must come to an end,” he said during the interview, adding that “the nation does not want war and no longer wishes to fight the Israeli state.”
After decades of constant fighting against Israel, Lebanon “must stop following pipe dreams… the nation does not want to fight,” said Wahhab. “We want to live comfortably,” he added, suggesting that “the only victor in the region is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who continues to reshape the Middle East.”

“The Lebanon front has paid a heavy price since Hezbollah opened a support front for Gaza,” said Wahhab, referring to the more than year of attacks by the terror group on northern Israel, starting right after the Hamas onslaught on the south on October 7, 2023.
Israel believes that around 3,500 Hezbollah operatives have been killed throughout the conflict. A tentative ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah entered into effect last month, though each side has accused the other of violating the terms of the deal.
Wahhab suggested that the Iranian Axis of Resistance “ended after the deaths of [Iranian general] Qassem Soleimani [in 2020] and [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah” in an Israeli airstrike earlier this year. The only path forward, he said, is normalization with the State of Israel.
The Lebanese politician is known for his outspoken statements, and has made comments suggesting Lebanon abandon its fight against Israel in the past.
In October 2022, after Israel and Lebanon reached an agreement over their maritime border, Wahhab said in an interview with al-Jadeed that, “in my opinion [by signing the deal], we went for sustainable peace. Let’s not kid around.”