Prime Minister Najib Mikati pointed out during the event "Lebanon's Role and Position Amid Israeli Violations and International Treaties," held today, Wednesday, at the Movenpick Hotel, that "in this meeting, we have in mind the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon for years, and the periods of its occupation of large parts of our land, and what it has left behind in terms of martyrs, wounded, and severe damages affecting everything." Mikati stated: "These Israeli aggressions in the south, marked by the deliberate killing of its people, destruction of towns, and burning of crops, are not only a matter of condemnation and denunciation from us; they are a destructive and described terrorist aggression that the international community must put an end to."
On this occasion, he emphasized the need to ask the relevant international parties about the measures being taken to rein in the enemy and stop the pattern of fighting and destruction. "What is currently happening in southern Lebanon, although considered in essence a reflection of the tragedies in Gaza, is, in reality, simply a result of the escalation of Israeli aggressions against national sovereignty and its continuous violation of UN Resolution 1701." He noted that he personally initiated public calls to maintain calm and restraint along the southern border since the outbreak of events in Gaza and warned against the spread of the destructive war in Gaza to southern Lebanon and beyond.
He continued: "Dear attendees, our choice in Lebanon has always been and remains peace, and our culture is a culture of peace based on rights, justice, and international law, particularly Resolution 1701. However, we are a people who have not accepted, and will not accept aggressions against our sovereignty, national dignity, territorial integrity, and against our civilians, especially children and women." Moreover, he emphasized that we are concerned, from Arab, national, and humanitarian standpoints, about the ongoing acts of genocide against the Palestinians, particularly in Gaza. What happened at the "Al-Shifa Hospital" is an atrocity and a violation of all treaties and ethical considerations, which should not go unnoticed by the world observing the ongoing aggression.
"As a host country for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees since 1948, we remind the international community of its humanitarian and moral responsibility toward Palestinian refugees. The essence of peace is for the Palestinian people to live on their land within a free and independent state, and any attempt to bypass these fundamentals will lead to further crises in the Middle East and the world," he concluded. "Peace begins with Palestine, and the history of this region starts in Palestine; no peace agreement can survive without guaranteeing the right of return for all Palestinians, and no power on earth can erase the Palestinian cause."
