‘We do not want to act against Lebanon’ - Israel's US ambassador calls for peace

Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, released a call for peace to the people of Lebanon over the weekend. 

The message was published on Friday by the English-language Lebanese news outlet, This is Beirut. 

In the 17-minute-long video, Leiter, speaking as an official representative of the Israeli government, tells the Lebanese people that Israel wants to be at peace with Lebanon. 

“My name is Yechiel Leiter, Michael Leiter. I'm the ambassador of Israel to the United States,” Leiter says, introducing himself. “I represent Israel to the U.S. government and to the people of the United States. It's very important for me to reach out to the people of Lebanon and to let you know that we want very much to pursue peace with you.” 

“We want to live together in peace and harmony. We have no issues with your territory. We have issues only with our security, and when we're threatened we have to respond, because the same way you want to live in security so do we,” Leiter explains. “So we're looking for ways of pursuing talks. We're looking for ways of pursuing peace, at the same time we're looking to secure our citizenry and our country.” 

“What I envision is a relationship of peace and harmony. There's no reason why there wouldn't be peace between Israel and Lebanon, between the people of Lebanon and the people of Israel. We have so much in common, really,” the ambassador stated.  

Leiter asked the Lebanese people to imagine life without the Iranian government sponsoring terror. 

“Imagine if you lived in a country without war, without civil war, without strife, without being raped by foreigners like the Iranians, who are pumping money into an organization which has really robbed you of your peace, of your internal peace and peace in the region,” Leiter said. “So, I think that we could reach a stage where Israelis are visiting Beirut, Lebanese are visiting Jerusalem. We're sharing a common goal of living together in peace and harmony.” 

He referred to the economic success that Israel and the United Arab Emirates saw after signing the Abraham Accords. 

“You know, after the Abraham Accords with the UAE and Bahrain, hundreds of thousands of Israelis came to visit these countries,” he noted. “They spent money. The businesses developed. And the governments are doing research together.” 

“Why can't we work together, for example, with Lebanon on maritime trade?” Leiter asked. “We share an ocean. And there's so much we can do in gas exploration. Instead of arguing about where the line is, we can work together to determine where the line is. We can determine what we can do together with the natural resources of the ocean, of the region. There's so much we can do.” 

Leiter also referred to his own experience in Lebanon, many years ago, saying, “I had the fortune of visiting Lebanon many, many years ago. And I remember being in the Shuf Mountains, overlooking Beirut, and thinking to myself, this really is Switzerland or the Middle East. This could be so calm. This could be so beautiful. And I think that's what every Israeli across the political spectrum is waiting for.” 

Leiter also noted that Israel’s desire to be free from the threat of Hezbollah is shared by many in Lebanon. He said this could lead to an expansion of the Abraham Accords. 

“The only interest we have is protecting our border, as Lebanon wants to protect its border,” the ambassador explained. “So, we can find a way of doing that together and getting these foreign elements out of the picture and just pursuing the avenue of mutual understanding, peace, and harmony. I think that we could clearly move into Abraham Accords 2.0.” 

He again referred to the economic benefits that Israel and the UAE received from their peace accord, saying that the same would be true for Lebanon. 

“Israel is an economic powerhouse, and living in such close proximity and exchanging ideas, the world of ideas, exchanging the world of the academy, of course, technology, human development, it's all going to grow and the economies are going to grow,” he suggested. “And when economies grow, people are better off. And that would be the benefit both to Lebanon and Israel.” 

Leiter also shared his opinion that if the threat of Hezbollah were removed, Israel and Lebanon would be able to reach a mutually satisfactory solution to the contested border area. He even acknowledged that the issue is larger than the five points currently being held by the IDF as a security against Hezbollah encroachment. 

“There are more than five points that have to be discussed, and they're all manageable,” he stated. 

“Why should Iranian money be destabilizing Lebanon in order to fire missiles at Israeli civilians?” Leiter asked. “We have no territorial claims on Lebanon. We want to live in peace with Lebanon.” 

“May this year, we're approaching the New Year, Christmas, the New Year, and let's pray together that 2026 becomes the year of Abraham Accords 2.0, where we live in peace and harmony,” Leiter concluded.