Beirut – European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell expressed his support for Lebanon’s position calling for the immediate implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 on disengagement with Israel, on Monday.
Borrell’s remarks came during a phone call with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib, during which they discussed field developments in southern Lebanon and the region, according to a statement by the Lebanese Foreign Ministry.
On Sunday morning, Israeli warplanes launched more than 40 raids on dozens of villages and towns in southern Lebanon, killing 3 people, in the largest attack since the start of the confrontations with Hezbollah on October 8.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced that it had bombed Israeli military sites with 340 missiles and launched a drone attack deep inside Israel, in response to the assassination of party leader Fouad Shukr in Beirut on July 30.
During the call, Borrell expressed his support for “Lebanon’s position calling for the immediate implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701.”
On August 11, 2006, the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1701, which called for a complete cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel, following a war between the latter and Lebanese factions.
He also called for the creation of an area between the Blue Line (the border between Lebanon and Israel) and the Litani River in southern Lebanon, free of any armed men, military equipment and weapons, except those belonging to the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Bou Habib and Borrell expressed their regret for “the lack of a breakthrough in the new round of negotiations led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, which was held in Cairo (ended Sunday) after the first round in Doha.”
With American support, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, resulting in more than 133,000 Palestinian deaths and injuries, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and deadly famine.
Netanyahu insists in the negotiations on the possibility of resuming the war on Gaza, and continuing military control over the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah border crossing between the Strip and Egypt, and the Netzarim Corridor separating the north and south of the Strip.
In contrast, Hamas insists on ending the war, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip, and the freedom of return of the displaced to their areas, as part of any prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement.
Bou Habib and Borrell stressed “the importance of continuing efforts and endeavors to stop the ceasefire in Gaza, as it is the main gateway to putting an end to the escalation in the region and sparing it a comprehensive war.”
To demand an end to the war on Gaza, Lebanese and Palestinian factions in Lebanon have been exchanging daily shelling with the Israeli army since October 8, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries, most of them on the Lebanese side.
Bou Habib stressed the “necessity for the European Union to exert pressure on Israel to stop its ongoing aggression against Lebanon and commit to implementing Resolution 1701.”
Yesterday, Sunday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said, during an emergency government meeting to discuss the recent escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, that “what is required is to stop the Israeli aggression first, and implement Resolution 1701 second.”
Anatolia
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2024-08-26 21:56:16
