Defense Council: Lebanese Have Right to Self-Defense, National Unity Best Weapon

Lebanon’s Higher Defense Council on Tuesday stressed “the right of the Lebanese to defend themselves with all means against any aggression,” in the wake of Israel’s latest drone attacks in the country.

“This is a right that is enshrined in the U.N. Charter,” the Council added in a statement, emphasizing that “national unity remains the best weapon in the face of the aggression.”

The meeting was chaired by President Michel Aoun and attended by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the ministers of defense, interior, foreign affairs and finance, and the heads of security agencies.

“The President underlined the need to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity because it is a legitimate right,” the statement added.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri meanwhile told the Council that a complaint against Israel has been filed with the U.N. Security Council via the Foreign ministry.

Hariri also briefed the Council on his contacts with the international community, noting that “this is the first attack of its kind since 2006 and the first violation through which Israel seeks to change the rules of engagement.”

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Hariri said: "I reassure you that there is nothing to worry about and we only fear God."

TV networks meanwhile said the Council decided to regulate "the import, purchase and sale of drone cameras."

One drone came down and another exploded early Sunday in a Hizbullah stronghold in the southern Beirut suburb of Mouawad, damaging a Hizbullah media center and lightly injuring three people who were in the building.

On Monday, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command reported an overnight Israeli drone attack on its base in the Lebanese eastern border region of Qusaya.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had on Sunday vowed to "do everything" to thwart Israeli drone attacks in Lebanon, threatening to down any unmanned aircraft that violates Lebanon’s airspace. He also pledged to retaliate from Lebanon against an Israeli airstrike that killed two Hizbullah members in Syria.