2023-12-22 18:28:47
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday that his country is ready to implement Resolution 1701 issued by the United Nations, which stipulates the removal of Hezbollah from the border with Israel on the condition that the Hebrew state withdraws from the occupied border lands claimed by Lebanon. Meanwhile, several Western countries are active in avoiding an escalation in the situation between Israel and Lebanon, and are proposing, among various options, to settle the border dispute between the two countries.
Published on: 12/22/2023 – 19:28
3 minutes
He stated on Friday Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati Commenting on the tension on the Lebanese-Israeli border, he told journalists: “The solution exists and it is in implementing international resolutions, from the Armistice Agreement between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy (1949), Resolution 1701, and all international resolutions.”
He added, “We are ready to commit to implementation on the condition that the Israeli side commits to and withdraws, in accordance with international laws and resolutions, from the occupied territories.”
According to Mikati’s office, it refers to the lands claimed by Lebanon and still occupied by Israel since its withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000: the Shebaa Farms, the Kfar Shuba Hills, and the northern section of the village of Ghajar.
This comes in the wake of a statement by Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Sunday, who said that Hezbollah must be “forced to withdraw north of the Litani River,” adding, “There are two ways to do this: either through diplomacy or by force.”
The border region between southern Lebanon and Israel has witnessed a worsening military escalation between the Israeli army and Hezbollah since the Palestinian Hamas movement launched an unprecedented surprise attack on October 7, which responded with devastating bombing and a ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
It is noteworthy that Hezbollah, supported by Tehran, fought a devastating war in 2006 against Israel, which ended with the issuance of Resolution 1701, which stipulates the deployment of the Lebanese army and the UNIFIL force only between the border with Israel and the Litani River, about 40 km north of this border.
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For their part, several Western countries are active to avoid an escalation in the situation between Israel and Lebanon, and are proposing, among various options, to settle the border dispute between the two countries. Similar to French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who last Monday from Beirut called for restraint to avoid a regional escalation.
During a visit to Israel, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urged Hezbollah not to “cause the conflict to expand.”
In addition, Israel responds to attacks by Hezbollah and Palestinian factions from the south, by bombing border areas, targeting what it describes as the movements of Hezbollah fighters and its facilities near the border. The intensity of the bombing has increased recently, resulting in major destruction in some neighborhoods of the southern border villages.
Hezbollah, which does not have any visible military presence in the Lebanese border area, says that in its daily operations it mainly targets Israeli military targets near the border, placing this within the framework of supporting the Gaza Strip and supporting its resistance.
The exchange of bombing led to the deaths of more than 150 people from the Lebanese side and 11 from the Israeli side.
France 24/AFP
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