Lebanese Sunni Muslim MP Fouad Makhzoumi (National Dialogue Party) pushed back against claims by Lebanese-Australian interviewer Mario Nawfal that Israel is seeking to instigate a civil war in Lebanon during a tense exchange in an interview posted on X.
Nawfal claimed that “a lot of people are worried that Israel is trying to instigate a civil war in Lebanon," adding that countries “benefit from having weaker neighbors."
Makhzoumi responded by accusing Hezbollah of undermining Lebanon and said the current situation in the country is “worse than a civil war."
“Today, we have Hezbollah revolting against the government. They kill anybody they want," Makhzoumi said. “Civil war does not have 1.3 million people displaced. Civil war does not have 67 villages that people cannot go to. Civil war does not stop people from coming to visit Lebanon."
He added that Lebanon’s tourism revenues had collapsed over the years.
“In 2009, we had $10.8 billion in revenue from tourism; today, we barely have 1 billion and mostly from Lebanese," he said.
When Nawfal asked whether he meant the current situation was worse than during the Lebanese civil war, Makhzoumi replied, “Of course."
Makhzoumi later said that Hezbollah, not Israel, was seeking civil war in Lebanon.
“And worse than that, who wants a civil war? Hezbollah wants a civil war," he said.
Nawfal interjected, “No, Israel wants civil war."
Makhzoumi answered by pointing to what he described as Hezbollah-backed messaging in Lebanon.
“Who is the media in Lebanon that advocates that if you challenge Hezbollah, it will lead to a civil war. If you disarm Hezbollah, you will go to a civil war. If you try to allow direct negotiations, you’ll have a civil war," he said. “It’s Hezbollah. Tell me which other media besides Hezbollah is actually doing this propaganda? No other media."
Nawfal later pressed Makhzoumi directly on whether he believed Israel wanted civil war in Lebanon.
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t know what they want, but I haven’t seen… all the statements that have been made by Netanyahu, they say, ‘We have no long-term intentions to occupy Lebanon,’" Makhzoumi responded.
Nawfal reacted angrily, saying, “You can’t say you trust Netanyahu?"
Makhzoumi replied, “I’m not saying I trust…" before Nawfal interrupted again.
“Yeah, but you can’t mention someone who lied a million times and has proven to be a liar time and time again," Nawfal said. “Mentioning his statement is a bit futile because you have to look at the actions instead."
Makhzoumi responded that he was only referring to public statements.
“I’m not here to agree or disagree, I’m telling you what I read publicly," he said.
He added that Israel’s political situation could still change due to upcoming elections.
“But the beauty of countries that have proper elections is that these things could change," Makhzoumi said. “They have elections coming up in October, the latest. Polls will not show that he is going to be forming a government."
He concluded by calling for better communication and efforts to reach “a reasonable agreement."
Watch the full interview: