Published On 3/12/2025
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Last update: 17:33 (Mecca time)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told Al Jazeera in an interview with Al Jazeera that Lebanon is ready for what he called supra-military negotiations with Israel, noting that Beirut has received messages from Israel regarding a possible escalation, but it is not linked to a specific time limit.
He also stressed that “Lebanon is not in the process of peace negotiations with Israel, and that normalization is linked to the peace process.”
Today, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun decided to appoint a civilian, former ambassador, lawyer Simon Karam, as head of his delegation in the five-member committee charged with monitoring the implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement with Israel.
According to the director of Al Jazeera’s office in Beirut, Mazen Ibrahim, who conducted the meeting with Salam, the Prime Minister considered that this step reflects Lebanon’s seriousness in embarking on a negotiating path, but he said, “We are facing supra-military negotiations,” meaning that they do not rise to the level of peace negotiations.
Salam also considered that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went too far in describing the step of including a Lebanese diplomat in the committee for cessation of hostilities with Israel.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced that Netanyahu ordered sending an Israeli delegation to meet with Lebanese government officials.
The Diwan confirmed in a post on the
However, in the interview broadcast later on Al Jazeera, the Lebanese Prime Minister denied that there would be any meeting between an Israeli delegation and Lebanese government officials, and said that there was no room to raise the issue of economic relations, stressing that “Lebanon has no desire to conduct peace negotiations and normalization with Israel.”
Salam added that the step of including a former Lebanese diplomat in the Cessation of Hostilities Committee reflects Lebanon’s desire to reach results related to the issue of borders, occupied territories, prisoners, and the rest of the files.
He also indicated that this step was consulted with the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, stressing that the selection of the former diplomat came within an inclusive national framework.
It is noteworthy that Lebanon and Israel concluded a ceasefire agreement on November 27, 2024, but Israel repeatedly violated the agreement and continues to occupy 5 Lebanese hills in the south that it controlled in the last war, in addition to other Lebanese areas that it has occupied for decades.
Hezbollah weapons
Regarding Hezbollah’s weapons, Salam said, “Hezbollah must surrender its weapons, and this is one of the most important aspects of its participation in the state-building project,” considering that this weapon did not deter Israel or protect Lebanon, and that the state has restored the decision of war and peace.
Salam warned that “the state will not allow adventures that lead to a new war,” calling for lessons to be drawn from the experience of supporting the Gaza Strip.