Prime Minister of the caretaker government Najib Mikati on Wednesday called on the international community to intervene and end the continuing Israeli occupation’s aggression on Lebanon.
Killing civilians, annihilating towns and scorching cultivated fields are the highest forms of destructive aggression and terrorism, he said in a statement during a seminar.
He indicated difficult issues caused by Israel’s aggression on the national sovereignty and continuous and flagrant breach of the UN Resolution 1701.
Lebanon’s option has always been peace, based on justice and the international laws and resolutions namely Resolution 1701, he said, also underscoring the world’s responsibility toward the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, stressing that peace can only be attained by the return of the Palestinians in the diaspora to their homeland.
Resolution 1701, issued to halt a major war between Lebanon and the occupation in 2006, stipulates, in part cessation of hostilities, deployment of Lebanese government forces t
o Southern Lebanon, parallel withdrawal of Israeli forces behind the Blue Line, strengthening the UN force (UNIFIL) to facilitate the entry of Lebanese Forces in the border region and the establishment of a demilitarized zone between the Blue Line and the Litani River. The southern regions have been witnessing tit-for-tat hostilities since October 8, a day after fighters from Gaza attacked a cluster of Israeli settlements, killed hundreds of settlers and took scores as prisoners.
The violence in the south that reportedly killed more than 400 people and left massive damage came to add to the heavy-weight plights suffered by the Lebanese at various levels, namely high cost of living, weak currency and soaring joblessness. Moreover, political infighting has kept the presidential post vacant since end of the former president’s mandate in October 2022.
Source: Kuwait News Agency