HARIRI: It went well. My impression is that the president is keen to see peace in the Middle East and wants to encourage moderate governments that are working hard to achieve [it]. He said if there is an impression in the area that he is not as committed to peace as the previous administration, this impression is not correct.
We are a small country and Israel doesn’t respect United Nations resolutions… [But] I believe the mood in the Arab world since Madrid has shifted from not believing in peace to believing in peace.
Let me ask you a question, why 95 percent, not 100 percent?
I’m not saying that. [But] you are not talking about a business deal. We are talking about the future of a people.
This is not the theory of Hizbullah; this is the theory of the Lebanese government. We believe it is Lebanese territory for sure.
Israel withdrew from Lebanon on May 25 but continues to violate our airspace and our water by [having] planes survey all the time… The most important thing is not to send an army [to the border] but to achieve a peace agreement.
The editorial talked about the timing.
Nobody wants to see a war or attacks. This land is our land and I would like to see Israel leave as soon as possible.
No.
But this is too close. When you build a missile to go 1,000km, you don’t move it to a target 300 to 500 meters away.
Aren’t there missiles and tanks in Israel? If we have more arms or they [do], it will not solve the problem.
I am afraid that it is heading for instability…
If you walk 97 percent, you can walk 100 percent.
In Israel, there are many people who are talking much worse than that.
We are not.
He is young [and] ambitious. He believes in peace.
We have to see what will happen with the Palestinian-Israel track. It is difficult for any Arab to move toward any solution because of what is going on in the West Bank and Gaza.
I am the first Arab leader who said we know his past and remember him with sadness. But the day he became prime minister I announced that despite all that happened to us because of him personally, we are ready to make peace with Sharon.
They will withdraw when we see it is necessary. Now they are needed.
During the occupation, they were an important part of resisting the occupation. But I know peace one day has to come.
They are still in the hands of Hizbullah, and the Germans are negotiating to free them. Israel withdrew from Lebanon but kept nine to 18 Lebanese prisoners. So they gave Hizbullah an excuse to take prisoners.
