Bassil says Israel not Hezbollah root cause of border tensions
Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil said Thursday that the reason behind the security situation is not the presence of Hezbollah but the presence of Israel.
Bassil had blamed Hezbollah many times for starting clashes with Israel, following its war on Gaza.
"The presence of Israel against the will of the Lebanese and Palestinians in the land where Jesus was born," is the root cause of the problem, Bassil said.
"Hezbollah was formed as a reaction," he added.
Bassil added that the FPM is trying to avert war, but that it will stand with Lebanon and defend it in the event of a war with Israel.
After Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza broke out in October, the Lebanese-Israeli border has witnessed almost daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli troops. Hezbollah says it will only stop fighting when Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip ends.
Hezbollah on Wednesday said none of Israel would be spared in a war, after Israel said it had approved plans for a Lebanon offensive, stoking fears of the Gaza conflict spreading.
Since Oct. 8., more than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon — most of them Hezbollah fighters but also more than 70 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, at least 15 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed.
Source: Naharnet
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