BEIRUT: Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday he saw no risk to peace from an operation by Israel’s military to disable cross-border tunnels it says were dug into its territory by Hezbollah guerrillas.
Israel says Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful armed group, dug the tunnels with the aim of launching attacks into Israel with backing from its regional sponsor Iran. Hezbollah has yet to comment.
“We certainly took this issue seriously — the presence of tunnels at the border — and Israel informed us via the United States that it does not have aggressive intentions and it will continue to work on its (territory),” Aoun told a news conference.
“We also do not have aggressive intentions... We are ready to remove the causes of the dispute, but after we obtain a final report and we set out the matters that need to be dealt with.”
During a televised visit to the border, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “methodically dismantling the tunnel weapon,” and warned Hezbollah not to re-establish the front.
“If Hezbollah makes the big mistake of deciding in any way to strike at us or resist the (anti-tunnel) action we have undertaken, it will get hit with blows that it cannot even imagine.”
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, last week confirmed the presence of one tunnel near the Israeli town of Metulla. The force’s head, Major General Stefano Del Col, said on Tuesday that a second one had been found while Israel’s military said it had discovered a third.
Del Col, in a statement issued after meeting Aoun, said the matter was “serious.” UNIFIL was making “every effort to maintain clear and credible channels of communication with both sides so that there is no room for misunderstanding.”
Israel has said it is up to UNIFIL to deal with the tunnels on the Lebanese side of the border, and its military said it held the Beirut government responsible for “another blatant breach” of a UN resolution that ended a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Aoun, a political ally of Hezbollah, said in a separate statement that Lebanon was committed to implementing that resolution.
Israel and Hezbollah have avoided major conflict across the Lebanese-Israeli border since 2006, though Israel has mounted attacks in Syria targeting what it said were advanced weapon deliveries to the group.
Lebanon’s Aoun says Israeli anti-tunnel action no risk to peace
Lebanon’s Aoun says Israeli anti-tunnel action no risk to peace
- Israel says Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful armed group, dug the tunnels with the aim of launching attacks into Israel
Lebanon PM Nawaf Salam says he will not allow anyone to drag the country into new conflicts
- Salam said Hezbollah can threaten to become further involved between Iran, Israel and the US, but the Lebanese government has full control
DUBAI: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that Lebanon has had enough ventures in the past and that he would not allow anyone to drag the country into new conflicts.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit on Tuesday, Salam said Lebanon has been involved in the war on Gaza over the last couple of years, and the damage it has cost them has been massive.
Salam said Hezbollah can threaten to become further involved between Iran, Israel and the US, but the Lebanese government has full control over the southern region and will not allow further involvement.
“For the first time since 1996, the Lebanese government through the Lebanese Armed Forces … has full control over the south of the country,” he said.
“No one is ready to involve the country in further adventures which could cost us more and will not engage in further ventures and conflicts,” he added.
“We are aware that we are in one of the most tense regions in the world. We need to fortify ourselves by working on restoring the decision on peace and war in Lebanon,” he added.
Salam said Lebanon’s goal was to reform its sovereignty and attract global investment.
“People only focus on reforms in financial institutions, but reforms are much wider than that for my government, which of course means financial reform, but administrative reforms are also important and needed,” he added.
Salam said that attracting investment requires achieving a sense of security in the country, not only for the Lebanese people but for the world.
“Reform and sovereignty go hand in hand. We need to restore the Lebanese state and the confidence in our people,” he explained.
Salam emphasized his country’s position in achieving judicial, security and financial reforms and said he will not allow anyone to do their work for them.
“All we want from our brothers here is to support our journey, but not take our place or play our role,” he said, referring to countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The minister said there would be a conference soon to support the Lebanese Armed Forces, and he invited all Arab leaders to participate in this event, adding that it was a way to enhance Lebanon’s security.
