Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib stated that Israel should not escalate the war it is waging against Hamas in Gaza and its surroundings. He described the situation in the Gaza Strip as dangerous, attributing it to Israel’s arrogance and its ongoing violations against the Palestinian people. Bou Habib revealed in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat in Washington, prior to Hezbollah's announcement of attacking Israeli positions in Shebaa Farms on Sunday morning, that the Lebanese government was assured that Hezbollah would not intervene in the war in Gaza unless "Israel provoked" Lebanon. He confirmed that Lebanon's stance on the developments aligns with courageous Arab positions. He regarded Hezbollah as a regional issue, not a Lebanese one that could be resolved by the Lebanese government.
Bou Habib also touched on the delineation of the Lebanese border with Israel, reminding that this border was drawn in 1923 and was reaffirmed in the 1949 armistice agreement. He stated that the Lebanese government does not consider the Blue Line as a border, adding that efforts by U.S. President Joe Biden's Senior Energy Advisor Amos Hochstein to agree on land borders after settling maritime borders are currently on hold until after the ongoing war concludes.
Additionally, Bou Habib confirmed that he is not a candidate for the presidency in Lebanon, adding that elections for this purpose will eventually take place. He strongly criticized the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' handling of the influx of Syrian nationals to Lebanon, revealing that their number has reached about two million, which is 50 percent of the Lebanese population, noting that Lebanon also hosts around half a million Palestinian refugees. He pointed out the intense Western pressure to halt Arab engagement with the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad.
