Miss Earth Lebanon 2018 Salwa Akar has found herself in the midst of a controversy as she was revoked off her title by the Miss Earth Lebanon Organization as a photo of her along with Israel’s candidate went viral on the internet.

The picture was posted by Akar on her social media which she captioned, “My advocacy is to help people find peace and love within themselves so they can love each other and become peaceful with our mother earth.” The Lebanese apartheid was condemned by Ofir Gendelman, spokesman to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Amidst all the controversy, Akar explained her stance on the revoking of her title, “I don’t need a “title” to be myself.. I, the Soul am peace.. and I will finish what I started with or without your support and love .. God is always beside me, he knows me more than anyone.. and he knows what’s in my heart. Om Shanti.”

This is not the first time that photos of candidates from Israel and Lebanon together became controversial. At the Miss Universe pageant in 2015, Lebanon's Saly Greige found herself in hot waters after a photo of her and Israel’s representative Doron Matalon was posted online.

To date, the two countries are known to be officially in a state of war. In 1948, Lebanon attacked Israel after joining other Arab nations against the newly formed Jewish state, which created the Palestinian refugee problem.