The Political Bureau of the "Kataeb" Party held a meeting chaired by the party leader, MP Sami Gemayel. After discussing the latest developments and the deteriorating situation in the south, the party issued a statement in which it deemed that "silence regarding what is happening in the south and the suffering endured by its people has become a crime against a country whose sovereignty and the safety of its people are being violated in every possible way."
It noted that "the arms caches hidden among homes, similar to what was revealed in Aadaloun, do not support what is called backing Gaza in any way but rather open the door to Israeli assaults and turn Lebanese people into human shields to protect the weapons." The statement added that "the Kataeb Party holds the government responsible for the unraveling situation by ignoring the fact that the south has turned into an open war zone under the watch of a state that is incapable and negligent in protecting the Lebanese and ensuring their safety, refusing even to raise the issue for public discussion."
The "Kataeb" party emphasized the need to respond to the petition submitted by opposition MPs, which calls on Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to hold a discussion session regarding the ongoing war and its repercussions. This is an urgent necessity that the Kataeb leader highlighted during the discussion of the European aid on May 15, more than two months ago, which was ignored and met with deaf ears.
The statement concluded by reiterating the party's demand to put an end to military operations launched from Lebanon, declare a state of emergency in the south, hand over control to the army, and assign it the task of confronting any aggression against Lebanon and working on implementing international resolutions that ensure the protection of Lebanon and the Lebanese, foremost among them Resolution 1559 and 1701, and returning to the ceasefire agreement signed in 1949.
