00:00Let's speak now to Najat Saliba, a member of parliament in Lebanon.
00:04Najat Saliba, welcome to the program. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
00:08Let me just begin with those comments that you may have heard our correspondent Jonathan Regev talking about.
00:15Can the Lebanese state realistically negotiate while a non-state actor, Hezbollah, operates independently?
00:25Good afternoon and thank you for the invitation. Of course, we have a challenge to deal with the disarmament of
00:33Hezbollah.
00:34The government and the cabinet, the ministerial cabinet, including the president,
00:41they took a decision on the 2nd of March and back on August 5th to lift all cover to any
00:50military action for Hezbollah.
00:52So disarming Hezbollah is a local demand that a lot of people won't want to see implemented.
01:01But without without the support of the international community and without going forward by proving that the negotiations are going
01:12to help in calming Hezbollah
01:15and not having Hezbollah always retaliating against the brutal attacks of Israel,
01:22I think the negotiations will remain moving very slowly.
01:27So the demands for Lebanon is basically to extend the period of the ceasefire,
01:34but also to ask Israel to comply with the terms of the ceasefire by not destroying more homes,
01:42bombing at constant basis the southern part of Lebanon,
01:47including the killing of journalists like what happened yesterday.
01:51So I think the demands are going, if they are implemented,
01:56they will help and strengthen the position of the Lebanese government to control the territory inside Lebanon
02:03and to take from Hezbollah the pretext and the excuse that we cannot give up our arms
02:12because Israel keeps bombarding us.
02:15Is an Israeli withdrawal realistic then, given what you've said in the near term,
02:20given the security concerns cited by Israel?
02:25Of course, we are in a state of war and that's why we're going to a direct negotiation.
02:32I think the negotiations are going to face lots of challenges
02:36and each one of us from his own point of view is going to put the blame on the other
02:44side.
02:44I think that's why we're saying we need to come to a common ground.
02:49If we agree on a ceasefire, let's implement the ceasefire first
02:53and let's stop, you know, destroying homes and occupying territories
02:59so that we can show the goodwill of both ends in order for us to move forward with the negotiations.
03:07Definitely, this does not come easy.
03:09We understand that we have been in a state of war for over 30 years
03:14or probably over 40 years and that's why this is going to be difficult.
03:19It might be also long, but at the same time, we call on both parties.
03:24Lebanon has shown great empathy and they also showed goodwill of maintaining the ceasefire,
03:32also trying to present the Lebanese armed forces as a substitute army to take control in the south.
03:42We need from Israel to also show the goodwill to extend the ceasefire
03:47and also comply with the ceasefire's terms and conditions by not killing journalists, for example,
03:55and not continue bombarding villages and destroying every sign of life in these villages.
04:03Briefly, if the ceasefire is not agreed, if the ceasefire is not extended,
04:08what are the immediate risks for Lebanon?
04:11We are really at a very difficult situation.
04:16From within, we see that, you know, parties are becoming louder in putting doubts in those negotiations
04:26and this is going to probably present an internal risk to the ceasefire
04:32and to the initiative that is put forth, you know, by the president.
04:37And at the same time, if this continues also, probably Israel is going to say
04:44that Lebanon is not controlling the decision that it's making.
04:48It's not true.
04:49Lebanon is really squeezed in the middle here.
04:52From one hand, there is the militia, the Iranian militia,
04:55that is continuing to put pressure on the government to force Israel to comply with the ceasefire.
05:03And at the same time, Israel is putting pressure on the government
05:07and say the government is unable to implement the decision it's taking.
05:13So the government of Lebanon wants to be free.
05:16It wants to take its own decision and it wants to implement its own decision.
05:21But we need help.
05:22We need help from the international community.
05:25We need help from the parties that are talking directly in order for us to move forward.
05:30If we're going to stay in a standoff like this
05:33by having a fight between Iran and Israel over the territories of Lebanon
05:40and at the expense of the Lebanese people,
05:42I think this is going to drag for too long
05:45and it's going to cost Lebanon a lot more than it has cost us already.
05:49Najat, thank you very much for your time.
05:51Najat Saliba, Member of Parliament in Lebanon.
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