The European Union’s foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, arrived in Lebanon, on Saturday, in an effort to calm the escalating tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, especially after the assassination of the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, in the southern suburb of Beirut, on Tuesday, and accusing Hezbollah and the Lebanese government. for Israel to carry out the operation.
“I am happy to return to Lebanon to show support during these difficult times,” Borrell said in a post on AX.
He added that he would hold “important meetings about the impact of the Gaza war on Lebanon and the region.”
He explained, “The priority is to avoid regional escalation and strengthen diplomatic efforts with the aim of creating conditions to reach a just and lasting peace between Israel, the Palestinians, and the countries of the region.”
In a related context, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati received Borrell in Beirut, and “cooperation between the Lebanese government and the European Union on social and economic issues and administrative reforms was discussed.”
Mikati stressed that “the issue of displaced Syrians must be resolved by supporting them in their country to encourage them to return.”
Regarding the clashes between Hezbollah and Israel, Mikati said: “We are peace seekers, not warmongers. We look forward to achieving stability and are making the necessary contacts in this regard, because any large-scale bombing in southern Lebanon will lead the region to a comprehensive explosion.”
He stressed “Lebanon’s commitment to implementing International Resolution No. 1701, and that the full implementation of this resolution first requires stopping Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty and withdrawing from the Lebanese territories it still occupies.”
He called for “working to establish a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue by giving the Palestinians their just rights.”
Tensions escalated with Lebanon after the strike that resulted, on Tuesday evening, in the killing of Al-Arouri along with six other people in the Al-Musharafiyeh area in the southern suburb of Beirut, a stronghold of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which Hamas and the Lebanese authorities accused Israel of carrying out.
The Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, warned Israel against any escalation after the killing of Al-Arouri, stressing that the fighting would be “without ceilings, without rules, without borders, and without controls.”
On Thursday, the Hamas movement carried out the funeral of the deputy head of its political bureau in the Lebanese capital, to the sound of shouts of “Allahu Akbar” and heavy gunfire.
In Israel, Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy announced that forces are on alert on the northern border with Lebanon, which has witnessed daily exchanges of fire since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
Hezbollah announced on Thursday that four more of its fighters were killed overnight, bringing the death toll to 129 since the outbreak of hostilities on the border, according to Agence France-Presse.
2024-01-06 12:05:30
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