‘Peace with Israel will save our country,’ says Lebanese president

Aoun frames talks with Israel as alternative to national collapse.

By World Israel News Staff

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he is pursuing peace negotiations with Israel, arguing that diplomacy is the only viable path to save Lebanon from continued war and economic and social collapse.

His remarks, made during a meeting with lawmakers aligned against Hezbollah and summarized by his office, offered justification for engaging with Israel — an unprecedented step in modern Lebanese politics.

“Lebanon faces two options: the continuation of the war with all its humanitarian, social, economic, and sovereign consequences, or negotiations to end the war and achieve lasting stability,” Aoun said, according to the statement released by his office.

“I have chosen negotiation, and I am full of hope that we will be able to save Lebanon,” he stressed.

Aoun emphasized that talks are the only realistic way to “end hostilities, secure the Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas in southern Lebanon, and allow the deployment of the Lebanese army up to the internationally recognized southern border.”

Since Israel’s founding in 1948, Beirut has refused to recognize the Jewish state. Despite multiple military defeats of the Lebanses army during conflicts and Israel’s peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, Beirut has never formally acknowledged Israel.

The diplomatic push follows recent U.S.-brokered efforts under Donald Trump, whose administration facilitated high-level talks last week between Lebanese and Israeli officials aimed at reaching a broader agreement.

Notably, Aoun did not personally attend those discussions. Reports also indicate that Aoun declined to speak directly by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite encouragement from Trump.

Trump recently announced a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. However, Israeli military operations have been focused on Hezbollah targets within Lebanese territory rather than on the Lebanese state itself.

Aoun’s remarks come months after the Lebanese government passed a resolution demanding that Hezbollah disarm. The Iranian proxy group has pledged that it will never surrender its weapons.