In midst of war, Israeli lawmakers push for normalization with Lebanon

New Knesset caucus formed to promote peace and normalization with Lebanon.

By World Israel News Staff

An Israeli lawmaker has launched a new Knesset caucus aimed at promoting eventual peace and normalization with Lebanon, arguing that Israel should look beyond Hezbollah and begin addressing Lebanese communities that may want stability, economic recovery and an end to Iranian-backed militia rule.

MK Akram Hasson (New Hope Party), who chairs the new Caucus for Peace Between Israel and Lebanon, said the initiative is not an official diplomatic channel but a parliamentary effort to keep open the possibility of future relations between the two countries.

The move comes as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues to strain a fragile US-backed ceasefire and as Washington presses for steps that could reduce tensions along the border.

The US has proposed that Hezbollah halt attacks on Israel while Israel refrains from escalating in Beirut.

Hasson said his initiative grew out of frustration with Hezbollah’s grip over Lebanon and the repeated harm the group has caused both Lebanese civilians and residents of northern Israel.

“Lebanon was taken hostage by Hezbollah,” Hasson told The Media Line. “It does whatever it wants there. It destroyed the Switzerland of the Middle East. It threatens Lebanon’s president, it threatens the government, and of course, it harms the residents of northern Israel.”

Israel and Lebanon do not have diplomatic relations, and Hezbollah remains the dominant armed force in southern Lebanon despite years of UN resolutions, ceasefire arrangements and international pressure aimed at limiting its power.

But Hasson said Israel should not treat Lebanon as synonymous with Hezbollah. He argued that Druze, Christian and Sunni communities in Lebanon could become partners for a different regional future if Hezbollah is weakened.

“The Lebanese people, in the latest survey, the Druze, more than 80%, want peace and relations with the State of Israel,” Hasson said. “Seventy-two percent of the Christians also want peace with the State of Israel, and there are Sunnis there who want it too. So the time has come for us to strengthen this alliance.”

He did not present the caucus as evidence that peace talks are imminent. Instead, he said it could help give public legitimacy to Lebanese voices that support normalization but are afraid to speak openly because of Hezbollah’s influence.

“I want to encourage every person on the Lebanese side who seeks peace and believes in peace to stand up and say what he thinks, like in the latest survey, and begin to apply pressure,” Hasson said. “Because in the end, if the people want peace and security and freedom, nothing can stand in the way of that will.”

Hasson said his proposed caucus would focus on areas such as diplomatic and civilian cooperation, tourism, trade, energy, agriculture, infrastructure, innovation and support for northern Israeli communities.

“We can contribute to Lebanon’s economy,” he said. “It is win-win. Everyone, in the end, will bless this important step.”

Hasson said he believes a future Israeli-Lebanese normalization agreement could ultimately become warmer than Israel’s peace with Jordan, which has remained strategically important but publicly cold.

“In my opinion, normalization with Lebanon would be better than with Jordan,” he said.

“You do not see one tourist from Jordan in Israel,” he added. “They do not contribute anything to us. On the contrary.”

Hasson argued that peace with Lebanon should be framed not as a left-wing or right-wing project, but as a security interest for Israel and a potential path to freeing Lebanon from Hezbollah’s control.

“The Lebanese people are a people of books, a people of culture,” he said. “They do not want terrorism, and they do not want Hezbollah there. They are suffering terribly from them.”