Lebanon 'far from' diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel, prime minister says

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s prime minister said Wednesday that his country was “far from” diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel, despite a move toward direct negotiations between the two countries aimed at defusing tensions.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s comments to a small group of journalists in Beirut came in contradiction to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would send an envoy to talks with Lebanese diplomatic and economic officials, which he described as an “initial attempt to create a basis for relations and economic cooperation” between the two countries.

Lebanon and Israel both announced the appointment of civilian members to a previously military-only committee monitoring enforcement of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted the latest war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah a year ago.

The civilian members — Simon Karam, an attorney and former Lebanese ambassador to the U.S., and Uri Resnick, the Israeli National Security Council’s deputy director for foreign policy — took part in Wednesday’s meeting of the mechanism.

Along with Israel and Lebanon, the committee includes representatives of the U.S., France and the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL.

Lebanon and Israel don't have diplomatic relations and have been officially in a state of war since 1948. The move to hold civilian talks appeared to be a step toward the direct bilateral talks between Israel and Lebanon that Washington has pushed for.

However, Salam said Lebanon is still committed to the 2002 Arab peace plan that conditions normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel on the creation of a Palestinian state — a prospect to which Netanyahu’s administration has been adamantly opposed.

“Economic relations would be part of such normalization, so then obviously anyone following the news would know that we are not there at all,” Salam said.

His comments also come amid fears of a new escalation by Israel against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Since the November 2024 ceasefire, Israel has continued to launch near-daily attacks in Lebanon that it says aim to stop the group from rebuilding its capabilities after suffering heavy blows in the recent war.

Lebanon has been deeply divided over calls for Hezbollah to disarm. In August, the Lebanese government announced a plan to consolidate all weapons in the hands of the state by the end of the year, but it later backed off of the deadline.

Hezbollah officials have said the group will not consider disarmament until Israel withdraws from all Lebanese territory and halts its attacks.

Salam said Lebanon is on track to implement the first phase of the disarmament plan — under which the Lebanese army should have a monopoly on arms in the area south of the Litani river, near the border with Israel — by the end of the year. The exception is several border points that Israeli forces are still occupying, he said.

The remaining phases of the five-phase plan, which would cover the rest of the country, currently “don’t have a time frame,” he said.

The lack of a firm timeline is unlikely to satisfy Israel, which has been threatening to escalate its military actions in Lebanon if Hezbollah is not fully disarmed.

Salam said that Lebanon had appointed a civilian representative to the ceasefire committee at the request of the U.S. and Israel.

“We are ready to negotiate with civilian participation," he said. “I hope that this will help defuse the tension.”

Salam also said Lebanon is ready to put in place a “verification mechanism” to investigate alleged violations of the ceasefire.

The November 2024 agreement required Lebanon to stop armed groups from attacking Israel and Israel to halt “offensive” military actions in Lebanon. It said Israel and Lebanon can act in “self-defense,” without elaborating.

Under the ceasefire agreement, both sides can report violations to the monitoring committee, but the deal is vague on enforcement.

In practice, Israel has largely taken enforcement into its own hands and has maintained that its ongoing strikes are in self-defense. Hezbollah has claimed one attack since the ceasefire.

Salam said that in many cases, Israel strikes without reporting violations via the monitoring committee.

“Clearly, we cannot be responsible for information that wasn’t shared with us,” he said. He added that Lebanon is willing to have U.S. and French troops on the ground to investigate and verify reported violations.

Salam said that Israel should fully implement its part of the ceasefire by withdrawing from several points on the Lebanese side of the border that its forces are still occupying and should release Lebanese citizens captured during and after the war who are currently detained in Israel.

While he insisted that Hezbollah is required to disarm under the ceasefire and in accordance with the plan adopted by the government, the Lebanese state's options appear to be limited if the group refuses to do so.

“We have lived civil war — civil wars — in Lebanon. I don’t think anyone is tempted to repeat that,” Salam said.

Meanwhile, the country is facing the end of UNIFIL's peacekeeping mandate in southern Lebanon, which expires in just over a year, leaving greater uncertainty over the situation in the border area.

Salam said he would be discussing “what will come post-UNIFIL” with a delegation of representatives of the U.N. Security Council that is set to visit Lebanon later this week.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with journalists working for foreign media and news agencies at the government palace in Beirut, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks to journalists working for foreign media and news agencies at the government palace in Beirut, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with journalists working for foreign media and news agencies at the government palace in Beirut, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks to journalists working for foreign media and news agencies at the government palace in Beirut, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks to journalists working for foreign media and news agencies at the government palace in Beirut, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was awarded the new FIFA peace prize on Friday at the 2026 World Cup draw — giving the spectacle to set matchups for the quadrennial soccer tournament even more of a Trumpian flair.

Trump, who had openly campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, had been heavily expected to receive the newly created FIFA prize. FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a close ally of Trump, has said he thought Trump should have won the Nobel for his efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.

In awarding the prize, Infantino told Trump it was a “beautiful medal for you that you can wear everywhere you want to go.” Trump promptly placed the medal around his neck. The certificate that Infantino handed Trump recognizes the U.S. president for his actions to “promote peace and unity around the world.”

Infantino also presented Trump with a gold trophy with his name on it that depicts hands holding up the world. “You definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action, for what you have obtained in your way," said Infantino, who spoke after a video was played that showed images of Trump meeting with world leaders from countries whose conflicts he has taken credit for resolving.

Trump thanked his family, including his wife, first lady Melania Trump, and praised the leaders of the other two host nations — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum — in his brief remarks, saying the coordination with the countries has been “outstanding.”

“This is truly one of the great honors of my life,” Trump said, adding that “most important, I just want to thank everybody. The world is a safer place now.”

Infantino has often spoken about soccer as a unifier for the world, but the prize is a departure from the federation’s traditional focus on sport.

Infantino has been a frequent visitor to the Oval Office, including in November when the administration announced new efforts to expedite visa processing for World Cup visitors. Infantino had a prime seat at Trump’s January inauguration and FIFA has established an office at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

FIFA has given no details about the process for choosing a winner. When Infantino first announced last month that the organization would give out a peace prize, some of its senior officials were caught off guard, learning about it through reports in the media.

The FIFA president was also on hand Thursday at the newly renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, where Trump and the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda signed a deal aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo.

FIFA's award to Trump came during a week in which his administration has been engaged in shuttle diplomacy to try to end the war in Ukraine, while also under scrutiny for lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and as Trump hardens his rhetoric against immigrants.

The Nobel for peace was awarded this year to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who said shortly after the prize was announced that she was dedicating it in part to Trump for “his decisive support of our cause.” Machado will receive the award at the traditional Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 10.

Associated Press sports reporter Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump picks up his FIFA Peace Prize medal, awarded to him by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, before the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump is presented with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize by FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, right, awards President Donald Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize during the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

FILE - President Donald Trump listens as FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during a meeting with the White House task force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Oval Office of the White House, Nov. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

President Donald Trump is presented with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize by FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino presents President Donald Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize during the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, Pool)

President Donald Trump receives the FIFA Peace Prize from FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)