Israeli PM: No Peace with Lebanon As Long As Hezbollah in Control

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that there will be no peace deals between Israel and Lebanon as long as the latter remains under the control of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Speaking at the Knesset vote to ratify the normalization deal with the United Arab Emirates, Netanyahu said that Israeli-Lebanese negotiations will weaken Hezbollah's grip on the political and security life of Lebanon.

The Israeli Prime Minister called on the Lebanese government to continue with and conclude talks with Israel regarding mutual maritime borders.

Still, Netanyahu said, he saw a ray of hope in the talks that began Wednesday between Israel and Lebanon to resolve the maritime dispute between them.

He added that he hopes these negotiations mark the breach of potential for a future day, when it will possible “to achieve true peace” between Israel and Lebanon.

Netanyahu called the expected passage of the deal in the Knesset historic and expressed hope that more Arab countries would follow.

The Israel-UAE peace deal is part of the US brokered Abraham Accords that also includes a normalization deal with Bahrain that has been signed but not ratified. Israel has only two other peace deals with Middle East Arab countries, a 1979 agreement with Egypt and a 1994 one with Jordan.

Opponents of the UAE deal have been concerned that not all elements have been made public, particularly with regard to military equipment such the advanced F-35 combat jet and the annexation of West Bank settlements.