Israel offers peace treaty with Lebanon

September 4, 2006

Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister of Israel has offered to make peace with Lebanon, calling for an end to "hostility, fanaticism and hatred" towards each nation by "shaking [each other's] hands."

"How natural it would be if the Lebanese prime minister replied to the many requests I conveyed to him, through different people, to sit down together, shake hands, make peace and end once and for all the hostility, fanaticism and hatred that part of his country feels towards us," said Olmert, who was speaking to students at a school in Ma'alot.

Olmert also said that he "hopes that day comes soon."

"We have to have a situation, where we do not see those lorries coming from Syria, full of Iranian missiles, full of Iranian rockets. That will just make Hezbollah strong again. That is not good for Lebanon; it is not good for Israel," he added.

Fouad Siniora, the Prime Minister of Lebanon said that no treaty or invitation to talk has reached his office and that any such treaty or invitation would be turned down.

"Nobody has conveyed such invitations. [Both] are rejected before they arrive," said a statement from Siniora's office.

The statement continued saying, "what is required from Israel is that it ... withdraw from the Lebanese territory it has occupied and from the Shebaa farms and stop violating the [UN truce] resolution by ending its unjust blockade of Lebanon. Lebanon will be the last state to sign peace with Israel and that can only happen based on the Arab peace initiative."