Lebanese Journalist Raghida Dergham: I Support Normalization And Peace With Israel Once Borders Are Demarcated; There Is No Shame In Peace; Jerusalem Will Not Be Returned To Palestinians

Lebanese journalist Raghida Dergham said that she supports normalization and peace negotiations with Israel once the borders between Lebanon and Israel are demarcated. She made these remarks in an interview that aired on OTV (Lebanon) on April 15, 2021. Dergham said that peace is not shameful and once there are no longer border disputes with Israel, it will no longer be an enemy of Lebanon. She added that European countries were "more savage" than Arab countries, yet they were able to make peace with each other. Dergham said that Jerusalem will not return to the hands of Palestinians so they should not be held hostage for eternity by this goal.

Raghida Dergham: "We will obtain our rights from the Israelis on land or sea. We will obtain our right and reach a peace agreement. There's nothing wrong with that. So there will be normalization..."

Interviewer: "What is the most important thing that we will get [from Israel]?"

Dergham: "Our lands in..."

Interviewer: "In the Shebaa Farms?"

Dergham: "This issue requires a long discussion and you don't have time for it. But now we are talking about our border at sea... We must demarcate our borders on land and sea. I'm talking about our borders with Israel as well as with Syria. Demarcation of borders benefits countries. The problem is that some parties do not want to demarcate the borders with Syria. Syria is one of these parties.

[…]

"With regard to Israel, we should get what is ours, and then let there be normalization..."

Interviewer: "And then you support peace?"

Dergham: "Of course. Peace, after the conditions are negotiated, is in our interest. When wars end, all the people negotiate and reach a peace agreement. In Europe, they were more savage than us in the Arab world. But then, in Westphalia or elsewhere, they reach agreements, and now they live with one another. There's nothing shameful about obtaining your rights through negotiations. Then there will be peace agreements. There's nothing shameful about peace, if the rights of both sides are guaranteed. There's nothing shameful about peace. On the contrary, people wish to live in peace. Israel should not be our eternal enemy, if we can obtain our rights from it. As long as it continues to deny me my rights it will definitely be my enemy.

[…]

"As Arabs, we cannot continue to say to the Palestinians, from the outside, that they should continue to be humiliated by the occupation until they restore Jerusalem. We all wish that the day comes when Jerusalem returns to the Palestinians, but this is not going to happen. It is not going to happen. Will you continue to hold Palestinian generations hostage for all eternity? No."