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In an interview on Voice of Lebanon’s YouTube channel on November 29, 2024, Lebanese filmmaker Youssef El-Khoury stated that Israel is not an enemy and that the Palestinian cause is not a just cause. He emphasized that he does not care about the borders of Israel or Palestine, as long as Israel does not occupy or attack Lebanon. El-Khoury highlighted the difference between occupying land and occupying decision-making, noting that while Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon involved building extensive infrastructure, it did not control Lebanese decision-making as Syria did at the time. He also criticized the Lebanese state for failing to fulfill its commitments under UN Resolution 1701.
Interviewer: "You do not think that Israel poses a danger to Lebanon?"
Youssef El-Khoury: "Absolutely not."
Interviewer: "The laws and constitution state that Israel is an enemy. With this theory of yours, you are violating the legal texts."
El-Khoury: "No, I am not. Show me where it says that Israel is an enemy."
[...]
Interviewer: "You do not consider the Palestinian cause to be a just human cause?"
El-Khoury: "Absolutely not. I don't care. I don't care if Palestine stretches from the Land [sic] to the Sea, or if Israel stretches from Iraq to wherever."
Interviewer: "But if Israel stretches from Iraq to wherever, it will swallow up Lebanon."
El-Khoury: "Lebanon is where we draw the line. If Israel attacks Lebanon, it will become an enemy. As long as Israel does not attack Lebanon, it is not an enemy."
Interviewer: "But it occupied [south Lebanon] for a long time..."
El-Khoury: "What did it occupy?"
Interviewer: "South Lebanon."
El-Khoury: "There is a difference between someone occupying your land and someone occupying your decision-making. While Israel was occupying the land and building extensive infrastructure in south Lebanon, someone else was occupying your decision-making, and robbing and destroying your country. So who was the real occupier?
[...]
"If Hizbullah stands trial today, it will emerge not guilty, because in Resolution 1701, it was the Lebanese state that was committed to do certain things. It is the Lebanese state that violated this resolution, not Hizbullah. Hizbullah can claim not to be responsible for its actions."
Interviewer: "So Hizbullah is not responsible?"
El-Khoury: "If I were the judge, I would sentence them to death immediately, but another judge could see things differently."
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