Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has signaled his country's desire for full normalization with Lebanon, just ahead of a key round of peace talks scheduled in Washington.
Gideon Saar © Mena Today
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has signaled his country's desire for full normalization with Lebanon, just ahead of a key round of peace talks scheduled in Washington.
"We want to achieve peace and normalization with the Lebanese state," Saar declared at a joint press conference alongside his Czech counterpart Petr Macinka in Jerusalem. "There are no major disputes between Israel and Lebanon. The problem is Hezbollah."
The Israeli minister argued that Hezbollah had attacked Israel "against the will of the Lebanese government," framing the militant group as a threat to both Lebanese sovereignty and Israeli security. For Jerusalem, the path to a new chapter is clear: Beirut must disarm Hezbollah before any meaningful progress can be made.
The Washington talks, set to take place under the mediation of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will bring together Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad, alongside US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa.
Israel's defence ministry said on Monday France had banned Israeli government officials from a major weapons show in Paris, and had imposed restrictions on companies from the country exhibiting there.
The medieval Beaufort Castle's stone ramparts tower so far above south Lebanon that Israel could hail their capture as a strategic victory, even as it evoked the miseries of a previous occupation.
Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nassar has launched a pointed attack on Hezbollah, accusing the Iran-backed group of undermining Lebanon's ability to conduct meaningful negotiations with Israel and dragging the country into wars its people never chose.
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