Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Sunday that Lebanon is prepared to consider a peace agreement with Israel if Beirut’s conditions are met, but he said the government’s immediate priority is securing an end to the fighting and a timetable for Israeli forces to withdraw from Lebanese territory.
Speaking in an interview with Al-Arabiya, Salam said current contacts with Israel are centered on Lebanon’s demand for “a clear agenda for Israeli withdrawal.” He said Beirut’s position remains focused on “stopping hostilities and ending the war.”
“The majority of Lebanese support negotiations to stop the war,” he said.
Salam said Lebanon “did not choose the war, but was dragged into the confrontation between Iran and the United States.” His comments came as Israel and Hezbollah continued to trade fire despite a US-mediated ceasefire announced in April, and as Washington continued efforts to prevent the Lebanon front from becoming a wider regional conflict tied to Iran.
Salam also said the southern Lebanese city of Bint Jbeil “has become a copy of Gaza” because of widespread destruction, and said 86 Lebanese villages remain under Israeli occupation. Israel says its operations in southern Lebanon are aimed at preventing Hezbollah from rebuilding positions near the border and threatening northern Israeli communities. Lebanon says Israeli forces must withdraw fully before any lasting arrangement can be reached.
The Lebanese government has sought to present diplomacy as a route to halting the war without framing it as normalization with Israel. Earlier this week, Salam said Lebanon seeks “peace, not normalization with Israel,” and said Beirut’s minimum demand is a timetable for Israeli withdrawal. He also said Lebanon intends to work toward placing weapons under state authority, a position that would directly challenge Hezbollah’s independent armed power.
Lebanon and Israel remain technically at war and have no diplomatic relations. US-backed talks in Washington in recent weeks have explored security arrangements, troop withdrawals, and a possible ceasefire framework, but Salam has said conditions are not yet mature for high-level political meetings.
