Ambassador Leiter's opening statement at the peace negotiations with Lebanon in Washington, D.C. earlier today: "I sit before you today as Israel’s representative to peace negotiations with Lebanon under the auspices of the US. Today is Yom HaShoah, the day Jews around the world remember the Holocaust. It is also Yom HaGevurah, the day of courage, when we declare, “Never Again." This phrase is a promise and a plan of action. We declare that we will take our enemies at their word when they tell us they are committed to our annihilation."
"As Iran’s top proxy, Lebanese Hezbollah has made clear its intent to eliminate Israel-the Jewish State and the Jewish homeland-and to bring death and destruction to its people. The Shoah teaches us to take that threat seriously, and we cannot hesitate to remove it from our borders. We have the courage that it takes to do so."
"We also have the courage to pursue peace through strength, and to work tirelessly for tranquility and prosperity for all. Today, we pursue those values for ourselves and especially for our Lebanese neighbors of all ethnic denominations. I commend President Joseph Aoun and his government for not allowing itself to be held hostage to the threats of Hezbollah’s leader. Naim Kassem and Hezbollah belong to the past; we are here for the future."
"I believe that we can, in good faith, accomplish the following interrelated goals: the complete dismantlement of Hezbollah, the freeing of Lebanon from Iran’s terror proxy, and the achievement of a real, lasting and mutually celebrated peace for the benefit of our peoples."