Lebanese PM: We ‘support peace’ with Israel, but only after our demands are met

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam says in an interview with the Saudi publication Al Arabiya, when asked whether the negotiations with Israel were aimed at a ceasefire or a peace agreement, that “we support peace, but this peace has conditions. This is an issue we will reach at a later stage.”

He stressed that currently, Lebanon is engaged in what he described as preliminary talks with Israel in Washington, DC, in preparation for entering more substantive negotiations.

According to Salam, Lebanon’s demands are a ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, and the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli prisons who were detained during the fighting in Lebanon.

“After the Lebanese demands are implemented, we are open to discussing conditions for peace within a broader Arab framework, because this has implications for Arab states,” Salam says.

Salam acknowledges that the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group opposes negotiations with Israel. But he notes that Lebanon had previously entered negotiations with Israel in 1983. Those talks proved unsuccessful.

Hezbollah began fighting Israel on March 2, days after the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran, drawing heavy Israeli airstrikes and an expanded IDF ground presence in Lebanon. A ceasefire in that conflict that began in mid-April has largely unraveled.