Report: Discrepancy in Lebanon over Response to Israeli Breach

The Israeli attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut highlighted a “split” between the government and Hizbullah over ways to respond to the breach, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Saturday.

The government seeks to address the issue diplomatically through the UN Security Council statement condemning Israel’s breach, while Hizbullah threatens to retaliate, said the daily.

However, according to information obtained by the newspaper, “Hizbulah is unlikely to respond soon as long as the hostile army (Israel) is on alert,” in northern Israel over fears of a reprisal attack from Hizbullah.

A government source told Asharq al-Awsat, the only point of convergence between the government and Hizbullah is that the two drones have “violated the sovereignty” of Lebanon, but the ways to address it are different.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had contacted Prime Minister Saad Hariri “stressing the need to avoid any escalation and to work with all parties concerned to prevent any form of deterioration.” Hariri, for his part, told Pompeo that Israeli activities caused danger to the stability and that they need to stop.

Hariri called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, calling on Moscow to help calm the situation, after the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement warning of any deterioration in the Middle East.

The source pointed out that “although President Michel Aoun considered the Israeli violation as a declaration of war", this did not prompt him to demand a military response.

He summoned the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Lebanon, saying the attack was “serious and violates UN Resolution 1701.” He also called on the international organization to play its role in deterring Israel.

The UN Security Council issued a statement and warned that "violations of the cessation of hostilities could lead to a new conflict that none of the parties or the region can afford."

It "condemns all violations of the Blue Line" between Lebanon and Israel, "both by air and ground, and strongly calls upon all parties to respect the cessation of hostilities," said the statement.