Plumbly Calls for Calm after Israeli Raid on Hizbullah Post
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly urged on Wednesday Lebanon and Israel to exercise restraint after an Israeli air raid two days earlier on one Hizbullah positions in Lebanon.
“I don't have any direct information about the matter,” Plumbly told reporters after talks with Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil at the Bustros Palace.
He pointed out that the United Nations encourage all concerned parties to “avoid anything which could lead to an escalation or disturb the calm which currently prevails as a result of resolution 1701.”
On Monday night, "two Israeli raids hit a Hizbullah target on the border of Lebanon and Syria," a Lebanese security source told Agence France Presse.
Hizbullah confirmed on Wednesday the report.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel was doing all that was "necessary" to ensure its security.
"We will not say what we're doing or what we're not doing" to maintain Israel's security, he added.
The diplomat described the meeting with Bassil as “extremely good.”
“We discussed the upcoming meeting in Paris and means to encourage, stimulate and highlight the need for yet more support … for Lebanon and for host communities who are receiving refugees,” Plumbly.
The International Support Group on Lebanon's meeting in Paris set for March 5 and 6.
The support group was inaugurated in New York in September 2013, on the sidelines of the 68th session of the General Assembly. It undertook to work together to mobilize support for the sovereignty and state institutions of Lebanon and to highlight and promote efforts to assist the country where it was most affected by the Syrian crisis, including in respect of strengthening the capacity of the Lebanese army, assistance to refugees, and structural and financial support to the government.
The Paris meeting will focus on humanitarian aid to help improve the situation of displaced Syrians in Lebanon, boosting the capabilities of the Lebanese army and tackling Lebanon's economy.
The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon had surged to around 900,000 according to the United Nations' refugee agency (UNHCR) as Lebanon has been facing difficulties in coping with their burden.
26 February 2014, 14:44
01
Mr. Plumbly, with all my respects to you Sir, it's easy for you to say this, after all, you're the ambassador of the most powerful country in the world. Please don't get me wrong, but here in Lebanon we have an apt saying which goes something like this, : the ember only burns where it is placed upon. I that same context, we Lebanese have long lived under the specter of uncertainty and the threat of war and violence. Just like you do towards your country, we too Lebanese, we love our country, and we love life too. I am sure that you've been to our restaurants to see for yourself, we Lebanese love life. But Sir, when war breaks out, you are safe, protected from almost all the elements, but us Lebanese, who protects us? Then when we queue at the port or airport seeking temporary safety in other countries, who is the one exposed but us? I now think that our biggest mistake as Lebanese was to take independence from France, if we were today part of the French territories, who could worry us?
26 February 2014, 15:54
18
the french. lol
dont think that being a colony is all nice, i dont know why many lebanese have this idealized vision of it. resources would be extracted and sent to france, all decisions would be out of our hands (sarko or hollande for instance would have handed our lands to israel without a second thought), and we would be nothing more than a small bargaining chip, or cannon fodder in france's war..
if you think they would have given lebanese people the same treatement as they do french people, think again, and look at their colonial history.
26 February 2014, 15:55
18
as for plumby the plumber, he couldnt care less indeed. he comes after a fait accompli, a unilateral aggression, and asks us to be calm.
his concern is that we do not retaliate, he is not even condemning israel, just making sure that we take the blow and cave in.
26 February 2014, 16:31
02
Mowaten, no one said remaining a colony, no khaye, I said part of the French territories, part of the EU, being able to travel or work anywhere we want, part of a security system that no one would touch. I have several Lebanese Shiite brothers who are 100% French citizens, because their old man joined the Foreign Legion during WW2, now all of them enjoy peace of mind, social security, hospitalization anywhere they may be, monthly salaries and pension, schooling for the kids, etc... and etc....Now brother, you compare that with present day Lebanon and tell me in all honesty which Lebanese will not jump at that?
26 February 2014, 18:20
08
having the nationality as an individual is not the same as being a french territory phoenix.
also, being french entitles you to social security and schooling in france, not anywhere in the world. as for "salaries", no there arent "salaries" just for being french, and you can get unemployment allocations (for a limited time) or retirement pensions only if you contributed to taxes on salaries long enough. lebanon has this too by the way.
now yes, france is a much richer country and they have better social security etc, but it's not like you can just "opt in" to being french. they're not a charity and many french now hate foreigners seen as "parasites".
also, your friends' fathers had to spend decades serving in the foreign legion to earn it. it didnt come for free.
26 February 2014, 18:24
08
but the real bottom point here for me, is that i'm proud of being lebanese and would never regret being any country's vassal, no matter the cost.
26 February 2014, 18:21
08
slash thanks for your pretended analysis of me, but you're so far off from what i ever said or believed that i really dont feel like there's anything to answer here.
