Disarming Hezbollah won’t happen overnight, warns Lebanese MP

[0:00] Najat Awun Saliba is an independent member of Lebanon's parliament. [0:03] She joins us from Beirut. [0:05] Welcome to the program. [0:06] So you have previously called removing Lebanon from the Iranian access a, quote, utmost necessity. [0:12] I mean, with the government now sitting directly across from Israel at the State Department in the U.S., [0:18] is the Lebanese state finally able to reclaim its own voice, do you think? [0:23] Good afternoon to you and to your viewers. [0:29] Thank you for the invitation. [0:31] Well, this is an initiative that the direct talks was an initiative that was put forth by the Lebanese president. [0:39] We understand that the first demand that Lebanon asked for was a ceasefire. [0:45] Yes, a ceasefire has been implemented. [0:48] However, there was a lot of breaching of the ceasefire by the Israeli government, [0:54] especially the atrocity and the brutal destruction that we see in the South, [1:01] especially in some of the villages that they claim they want to occupy for some time. [1:08] This is something that the Lebanese people will never accept. [1:12] We don't agree and we don't really consider what the Israelis are claiming to occupy. [1:19] I think the main condition to go forward with the direct talks is for Israel to stop the destructions [1:27] completely, to extend the ceasefire as the Lebanese government and the Lebanese ambassador will demand. [1:35] And from there on, we can start negotiations to see how Israel is going to withdraw [1:42] from all the territories of Lebanon and also make sure all this place will return to their villages. [1:49] But how do you avoid this initial stage of talks collapsing before going to the next stage? [1:54] Because just on Wednesday, you touched on this yourself, [1:56] Israeli strikes killed five people in Lebanon, including journalist Amal Khalil. [2:00] I mean, how do you maintain public support for these high-level talks in Washington [2:05] when the ceasefire, in inverted commas, on the ground seems to apply to everyone [2:10] except civilians in the South and the East of Lebanon? [2:13] Totally agree. [2:16] Israel has not shown any goodwill to go on with the direct talks, [2:21] especially with the killing of Amal Khalil yesterday and the wounding of Zainab Farah. [2:28] Those two reporters have been doing their, you know, were on duty. [2:34] They're doing their job. [2:35] And Israel has not even allowed the Red Cross to go forward for them to save Amal Khalil. [2:43] They were only able to save Zainab. [2:47] This is, we consider this as a war crime. [2:50] And definitely this is not helping even from within to support the negotiations [2:57] to go forward. [2:58] But we still agree with the president and with the prime minister [3:03] that the only way we have, the only way we can stop the killing machine of Israel [3:09] against the civilians in the South and in other places as well [3:15] is by doing direct negotiations. [3:18] Those direct negotiations are not going to be easy. [3:22] They are very challenging. [3:23] And we do hope that from the talks today, we can enforce Israel to stop this, [3:32] the atrocity and the brutality in the killing and the occupation of the territory [3:38] so that Lebanon can convince other parties from within who are opposing the direct negotiations [3:45] in condition that Israel complies with the ceasefire can help to go forward. [3:51] Well, let's talk about those opposing it because there is an elephant not in the negotiating [3:56] room, namely Hezbollah. [3:58] I mean, the group rejects the whole process. [4:00] In your view, can a peace deal actually be enforced if the Lebanese army is unable to remove [4:06] Hezbollah's weapons as the government has promised to do but so far failed? [4:14] Well, the government has taken bold actions, definitely. [4:17] It's the only government since the 1990s that has taken this action. [4:24] And again, since the 1990s, the governments that have taken place, [4:32] they have sidelined the role of the Lebanese armed forces and strengthened the presence of Hezbollah. [4:39] It's going to be very difficult now to say, OK, now the Lebanese armed forces are at the forefront. [4:47] They don't have enough resources. [4:48] They don't have enough manpower. [4:51] And we want them to actually take control of everything after 30 years of strengthening a militia [4:58] over the Lebanese armed forces. [5:00] That's why the president and the prime minister, with the help of the international community, [5:07] are calling to help support the Lebanese armed forces with resources and with also some financial [5:16] support in order for them to pay the people who are helping out and who are employed by the [5:23] Lebanese armed forces and also get the resources that are needed in order to dismantle the armament [5:30] and the ballistic missiles of Hezbollah. [5:32] So we cannot put the blame on the Lebanese armed forces. [5:35] They have been doing an excellent job. [5:38] We support them in everything they're doing, but they need help. [5:42] You mentioned resources that are dwindling. [5:44] Israel's ambassador to the U.S. has hinted that Lebanon could join the Abraham Accords. [5:50] And as a reward for that, it would seem massive investment if Hezbollah is disarmed. [5:54] For a country with a collapsed economy, do you see this as a genuine lifeline? [5:58] Or possibly even a trap? [6:04] I don't think Israel has to decide on this. [6:07] Lebanon will decide on its fate and the way the negotiations are going forward, [6:13] especially that Lebanon is part of the Arab League. [6:16] And I don't think they will do anything unilaterally before consulting with all the friends of the [6:21] countries in the Arab League. [6:25] So this is probably premature to talk about. [6:29] But at the same time, we do call on Israel to respect the ceasefire, to stop its killing machine, [6:37] and to withdraw from the territories of Lebanon if they really have a goodwill in going forward. [6:43] I think the goodwill starts by taking some actions that will help the Lebanese government to convince [6:50] the other parties that the negotiations are real and the negotiations are going to solve [6:57] many of the problems that we're facing. [6:59] Understood. [7:00] Najat Aoun Saliba, Independent Member of the Lebanese Parliament. [7:03] Many thanks for joining us.