Israel wants peace 'as if there is no Hezbollah' and war 'as if there are no peace talks'
Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said Israel's strategy for Lebanon is to run two different tracks simultaneously — one of peace and one of war.
Ahead of direct talks Thursday between Lebanon and Israel in Washington, Leiter said there will be two Israeli tracks: one responsible for achieving peace and the other for dismantling Hezbollah.
One team will work to "achieve peace, a peace treaty, full peace, as if Hezbollah doesn't exist," and the second will work to secure Israel's security goals "as if the peace talks don't exist."
"This is the first time that the talks are not focused on when the IDF is going to withdraw. The focus is now on, number one, reaching a peace treaty, as if there's no Hezbollah, and fighting Hezbollah as if there's no peace treaty. And I think we're going to accomplish both," Leiter told Israeli news channel i24NEWS.
This dual-track approach aims to secure a formal peace treaty while simultaneously ensuring the total dismantlement of Hezbollah, Leiter said.
Leiter claimed that the Shiite community in Lebanon and public opinion in general are shifting in favor of a peace agreement with Israel. "We have to be patient, but firm at the same time. The shared interest in freeing that country from Hezbollah is ultimately going to win the day."
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