Israel Wants Peace Deals with Neighbors But Won’t Give Up Territories

Israel has said it wants to make peace deals with neighboring Lebanon and Syria but will not return occupied territories.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at a news conference with his Austrian counterpart on Monday that his government wants to make agreements with Arab countries.

He said Israel is interested in expanding the scope of the Abraham Accords for peace and normalization.

Regarding the agreements brokered by the United States, Gideon Saar said that Israel signed them with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco in 2020.

He said that tensions have been running between Israel and Syria since Israel captured the Golan Heights in 1967.

The United Nations does not recognize it as part of Israel, but the Israeli Foreign Minister said that under any future peace agreement, these areas would remain part of the State of Israel.

It should be remembered that after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria last December, Israel landed troops in the Golan demilitarized zone and has carried out hundreds of attacks on military targets in Syria.

Foreign Minister Saar said that we are interested in bringing our neighboring countries, Syria and Lebanon, into the realm of peace and normality and want to protect Israel’s essential and security interests.