Al-Rahi slams 'illegal weapons' subjecting Lebanon to 'unwanted wars'
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Saturday condemned the use of Lebanese territory to fire rockets at Israel, in the wake of the most serious cross-border escalation since the 2006 war.
“Illegal weapons are dragging Lebanon and its people to receiving the blows of wars that they have not decided or wanted, as happened yesterday (Thursday and early Friday) on the southern border, despite the (U.N.) Security Council resolutions, most importantly Resolution 1701,” al-Rahi said in his annual Easter message.
“Until when will Lebanon’s land be violable to every armed person and until when will Lebanon and its people bear the repercussions of the foreign policies that are suffocating them day after day?” the patriarch asked.
Separately, al-Rahi decried “the presence of 2.3 million displaced Syrians who are exhausting the state’s capabilities; disrupting social security; competing with the Lebanese over income; and going to Syria and returning through legal and illegal border crossings and in a continuous and visible manner.”
“The international community is protecting them at Lebanon’s expense for manifest and hidden political reasons,” the patriarch charged.
“It is an urgent duty for MPs and officials to work with the international community to return them to their country and assist them there,” al-Rahi added.
He also called for “electing a president who is trusted domestically and abroad.”
Source: Naharnet
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