Lebanese president says talks with Israel reduce risk of renewed conflict

Aoun’s remarks follow two direct meetings this month between Israeli and Lebanese officials in the southern town of Naqoura.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said sustained diplomatic engagement with Israel has reduced the immediate risk of conflict.

“Diplomatic contacts to push back the specter of war have not stopped,” he said. “I tell you that the specter of war has been pushed away from Lebanon, and matters will head in a positive direction, God willing.”

Aoun’s remarks follow two direct meetings this month between Israeli and Lebanese officials in the southern town of Naqoura, rare contacts between the two adversaries aimed at maintaining a ceasefire that ended more than a year of cross-border hostilities.

Israeli officials have warned, however, that the calm depends on Beirut’s ability to neutralize Hezbollah’s armed presence.

In recent days, senior Lebanese figures have adopted unusually direct language on the issue.

Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji on Wednesday demanded the dismantling of Hezbollah’s entire military system, explicitly criticizing both the organization and Iran, its main backer. Aoun echoed that message a day later, calling for a “state of institutions, not a state of parties and sects.”

“There is a wound that is bleeding in the south,” Aoun said. “And I hope that with the birth of the new Lebanon, we will put an end to the wars and live in peace.”

The president spoke after meeting on Christmas Day with Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, who urged prayers for the success of negotiations and for the Lebanese Army’s efforts to collect “illegal weapons,” another reference to Hezbollah.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said last week that the government is close to completing the disarmament of Hezbollah forces south of the Litani River and has begun moving northward to confiscate additional weapons “based on the plan prepared by the Lebanese army pursuant to a mandate from the government.”