Hariri: Developments on Southern Border Must Not Lead to Escalation

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri announced Wednesday that Israel’s operation to destroy alleged Hizbullah tunnels on Lebanon’s border should not lead to “any escalation.”

“The developments on the southern border must not represent a reason for any escalation, and this is what Lebanon wants and is seeking with all the international and friendly sides concerned with this,” Hariri said in a statement.

“The Lebanese government stresses commitment to the full obligations of Resolution 1701 and to the ongoing coordination and cooperation between Lebanese authorities and U.N. forces. It also asserts that the responsibility for protecting the border and extending legitimate authority along the entire border falls on the Lebanese Army, in line with the requirements of international legitimacy and the declared resolutions in this regard,” the PM-designate said.

Slamming “Israel’s continued violation of Lebanese airspace and territorial waters,” Hariri added that the Lebanese government will continue the issue with “the relevant parties of the U.N. General Secretariat and the member states of the U.N. Security Council.”