After Gaza ceasefire, Salam urges world to pressure Israel to stop violations in Lebanon
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has called on the international community to pressure Israel to halt its attacks on Lebanon, as he welcomed the ceasefire in Gaza.
"While our government is committed to the ceasefire (reached in late November between Lebanon and Israel) and is working diligently to extend state authority over all Lebanese territory with its own forces and to monopolize weapons, the country is still exposed to almost daily Israeli aggressions," Salam said Monday, referring to the government's decision to disarm Hezbollah.
The November ceasefire sought to end more than a year of hostilities including two months of open war between Israel and Hezbollah, but Israel has kept up its strikes, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives. It is also still occupying five hills in south Lebanon that it deems "strategic."
"I call upon our regional and international friends to join us in working to stop these aggressions and ensure the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territories, and to help us rebuild (war-hit regions), in order to achieve stability," Salam said.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri who had accused the government of marginalizing the people of south Lebanon and of not prioritizing the reconstruction of the war affected areas, had said that Israel is trying to turn the southern border towns into an "unlivable demilitarized buffer zone" after it struck "300 vehicles, including bulldozers, excavators, and cranes, used for removing rubble in order to begin the reconstruction effort".
He urged the government to file a complaint with the United Nations Security Council, which Salam later did.
Source: Naharnet
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