Exclusive Israeli FM says Hezbollah, not Israeli strikes, violating Lebanon’s sovereignty

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Wednesday Israeli strikes against Hezbollah do not violate Lebanon’s sovereignty, arguing instead that the Iran-backed group is the party undermining the country’s sovereignty.

In an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya English, Saar said Israel has only “minor” disputes with Lebanon that could be easily resolved, adding that the real problems stem from Hezbollah and Iran.

Watch the full interview here.

Israel wants to normalize relations and achieve peace with Lebanon, Saar said. The foreign minister said Israel must “finish” Hezbollah to protect its security and “bring Lebanon back to its people.”

Turning to Syria, Saar said Israel wants to reach a security agreement with Damascus and stressed that Israel has no territorial ambitions in the country.

“We never had territorial ambitions in Syria – if we did, we could have taken more [territory],” he said, adding that a security agreement would be in the interest of both countries. “We don’t want terror activities promoted from Syria.”

On Iran, Saar said Tehran was “not only an Israeli issue,” noting that the United States joined Israel in striking Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day war in June. He accused Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapon and described it as a threat to regional security.

Regarding Gaza, Saar said he hoped the ceasefire would move into its second phase but said Hamas’ disarmament remained a major obstacle.

“We will not live with a terrorist state on our border,” he said.

Commenting on the recent deadly attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Saar said the world was “clearly” not doing enough to combat antisemitism. He called on Western governments to take stronger action, particularly in the public and digital spheres.

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