PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRIME MINISTER OF LEBANON

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRIME MINISTER OF LEBANON

Lebanon and Syria were ready to sign a peace agreement in three months if Israel decided to go ahead with peace negotiations, Prime Minister Rafic Hariri of Lebanon said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon. That position was very clear and highly appreciated by the United States Government, he added.

On Israel's security concerns, he said that country had the strongest army in the Middle East region, capable of facing the combined might of all the Arab countries. Yet Israel claimed to fear for its security. "We are afraid; we are more than afraid, we are scared to death of Israel." Lebanon, not Israel, should ask for guarantees of security.

Israel was occupying part of Lebanese territory and the Lebanese people had suffered war as well as many other problems, he added, answering questions from correspondents. The Lebanese wanted to be left in peace so they could rebuild their lives and country.

A correspondent said that during his recent visit to the United Nations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said repeatedly that his Cabinet was prepared to accept resolution 425 (1978) without conditions. Mr. Hariri responded that was what the Israeli Government had been saying for years. Israel wanted Lebanon to guarantee its borders and its security in the absence of a peace agreement between the two countries, which was impossible. "They want to hold us responsible for anything which might happen inside Israel. We cannot accept that."

There were "two roads to cross", Mr. Hariri added: Israel could withdraw from Lebanese territory by implementing resolution 425 and take responsibility for its own security, leaving Lebanon accountable to its own people and Parliament. Israel could also continue negotiations, in which case a regional peace agreement would be reached and it could then withdraw from Lebanese and Syrian territories. Only then could the three countries work together to assure the security and stability of the region.

Asked to shed light on recent Israeli aggression against his country, the Prime Minister said Israel was continuously bombarding Lebanese villages and had occupied part of southern Lebanon. Peace talks between Lebanon and Israel as well as between Syria and Israel had been almost frozen for more than two years. Lebanon had asked the United States to play a positive role in restarting those negotiations and hoped that it would happen as soon as possible.

Press Conference by Lebanon - 2 - 19 June 1998

Did Mr. Hariri feel that the United States was doing enough to sustain the Middle East peace process, and was Lebanon seeking that country's good offices to persuade Israel to leave Lebanese territory? another correspondent asked. Mr. Hariri replied that the United States had shouldered the responsibility of pushing that process forward. Lebanon had explained very clearly to the Americans that Lebanon and Syria were willing and ready to continue the negotiations from where they had stopped.

A correspondent asked whether Lebanon could alter the legal status of Palestinian refugees on its territory, as part of an overall peace settlement, if final settlement talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians were to start, given Israel's unfavourable view of the right of return for refugees living in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

The Prime Minister said that for internal reasons, Lebanon could not integrate the Palestinians. Although the civil war between the country's Christians and Muslims was now in the past, Lebanon did not want to create a situation where new problems could arise. Lebanon would never be able to integrate the Palestinians. That was entirely the responsibility of Israel.

At the same time, he continued, Lebanon sought peace in the region because on the one hand it would benefit most from peace. On the other hand, Lebanon did not see any future without peace. Israel's children were obliged to join the military and remain under arms for most of their lives. Maintaining a climate of aggression between the Arabs and Israel was a waste of time and energy which could instead be invested in the future of the region and of its children.

Mr. Hariri added that Arabs and Jews had lived together for centuries. They did not have a religious problem, but rather a political one which could be overcome if Israel decided to live peacefully in the region instead of trying to dominate it.

Asked how much support Lebanon was receiving from Muslim countries, he said those countries had sympathy for the Lebanese cause but that was all.

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