Beirut (Union, Agencies)
The Lebanese army announced that it had found missiles in southern Lebanon that were prepared to be launched towards Israel, while Lebanese politicians expressed their refusal to launch missiles from the south of the country at Israel, blaming the government and the terrorist Hezbollah militia for the deterioration of the security situation there.
The Lebanese army said in a tweet on its official account on Twitter, “A unit belonging to it found in the Qlaila Plain, in the south of the country, missile launchers and a number of missiles that had been prepared for launch a few days ago.” The army pointed out in its tweet, which attached several pictures of the missiles and platforms, that “work is underway to dismantle them.”
In the context, the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi, affirmed that “illegal weapons in a state of unrest are dragging Lebanon and its people into receiving blows from wars that it did not decide and did not respond to.”
Yesterday, the Lebanese “National News Agency” quoted Al-Rahi as saying in a message on the occasion of Easter: “How long will the land of Lebanon remain open to every bearer of arms? And how long will Lebanon and its people bear the consequences of foreign policies that suffocate it day after day?
In his message, Al-Rahi called for the election of a president for the country who enjoys internal and external confidence, otherwise “the parliament will remain suspended from legislation, accountability and accountability, and the state will remain without a government with full powers, ministries and public administrations scattered, and the judiciary suspended and subject to political influence, and the disaster of the Beirut port bombing and its victims and losses are close. Forgetting”.
He pointed out that “80% of the Lebanese are below the poverty line, living in deprivation and destitution until suicide, and that the spread of corruption and the rushing of the pillars of power to achieve personal and factional gains, and the sharing of the spoils, prompted the collapse to reach its climax by seizing the reap of the population’s lives.”
In turn, the head of the Executive Authority of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, asked the caretaker government questions about “the national obligations that necessitate the firing of dozens of missiles from southern Lebanon towards Israel?”
Geagea also asked about the Lebanese government’s reaction to its commitments to abide by UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006 to resolve the conflict with Israel.
Referring to the economic crisis afflicting Lebanon, he said: “What if a single pane of glass was shattered in a civilian house in the south as a result of the exchange of missiles and artillery bombardment? Where will the Lebanese government get the money needed to repair it?”
Likewise, the head of the Kataeb Party, Sami Gemayel, considered that “the survival of militias running amok will keep Lebanon in a state of instability and will not encourage anyone to invest.” Gemayel held Hezbollah responsible for what is happening, as it is responsible for security in the region in light of the government’s inaction.
Commenting on the rocket fire, the Free Patriotic Party said in a statement: “Isn’t the Lebanese enough of the tragedies that befell him? The arrogant are still betting on the future of the country and the future of its youth.”
He added, “We are clinging to electing a president before anything else, in order to preserve the implementation of international resolutions. The decision is for the state, not for the state.”
For his part, the Secretary-General of the National Bloc, Michel Helou, confirmed on Twitter that “protecting the borders is by imposing the state’s sovereignty over all Lebanese lands, so the interest and security of the Lebanese are above all considerations.” Lebanese MP Ziad Al-Hawat also announced his refusal to endanger Lebanon in a “delicate and critical regionalism.”
He said on Twitter, “The firing of missiles is the use of the southern arena once again to serve external interests that have nothing to do with Lebanon and the Lebanese. Turning a blind eye does not absolve one from responsibility. Responsibility also imposes an official position on what happened.”
Last Thursday, 37 rockets were launched from Lebanese territory towards northern Israel, according to the Israeli army, which indicated that Iron Dome intercepted a number of them.
The Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the firing of rockets from the south of his country into northern Israel, announcing that investigations are underway to discover and arrest the perpetrators.
In response, the Israeli army targeted, with air and artillery bombardment, open areas in the vicinity of Lebanese territory from which the rockets were launched, without causing casualties.
