Claudine Aoun, the daughter of Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, recently voiced her opinion about possible peace with Israel during an interview with Al-Jadeed.
She said that once issues were resolved between the two countries, she would not reject peace with Israel, which Lebanon regards as an enemy state.
The issues to be resolved, according to her, are:
- the maritime border demarcation
- Palestinian refugees
- natural resources (water, oil, gas)
“[Israel] is ‘the enemy’ for it has plundered the land of the Palestinians, and according to Lebanese law, it is an enemy,” the TV host reminded Aoun, to which she responded, “First of all, I defend the interest of my country, Lebanon.”
To many Lebanese, the stance against Israel is more than a simple war over land and resources, it is an ideological one. Many Lebanese stand against the inhumane acts of the occupation.
“Should we remain in a state of war? I do not have an ideological dispute with anyone, but my dispute is political,” she said. “I defend my country, its sovereignty and independence.”
Claudine Aoun’s comments about possible peace with Israel were quite controversial and received with mixed feelings from the Lebanese.
She assured that she stood by the persecuted people, but that “today in 2020, the victims are the Lebanese people.”
Across the border, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz welcomed Claudine Aoun’s remarks saying, “I am hearing positive voices coming out of Lebanon, who are even talking about peace with Israel, who are working with us on things, like determining maritime borders.”
Lebanon and Israel are set to hold their second round of maritime border talks on Wednesday, October 28th at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, south Lebanon.
