Lebanese President Aoun calls for "direct negotiations" with Israel to stop the war
The president accuses Hezbollah of trying “to provoke the collapse of Lebanon [. . .] on behalf of Iran." The country’s parliament votes to postpone May elections, extending its term due to “force majeure”. Syria supports Lebanon's efforts to disarm Hezbollah and boosts its presence on the border. The risk of annexation and the disappearance of historic Christian villages is high.
Beirut (AsiaNews) – To clearly demonstrate that the ongoing war is not Lebanon's war, but rather that of an Islamist party fanatically manipulated by Iran, President Joseph Aoun called for the opening of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under international auspices, and requested a truce in the fighting to allow the Lebanese army time to receive the necessary support to prevail against the armed Hezbollah.
Speaking during a videoconference organised at the invitation of the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, President Aoun accused Hezbollah of dragging the country into the war in order to bring about its collapse on behalf of Iran.
Going further, Aoun called for "direct negotiations" with Israel and demanded a "truce" that would allow Lebanon’s under-equipped army to receive the aid and equipment necessary to extend its authority in conflict zones and “disarm Hezbollah”.
“Those who launched the missiles (at Israel) wanted to provoke the collapse of Lebanon [. . .] on behalf of Iran, and this is what we have thwarted," Mr Aoun asserted firmly. He described Hezbollah as "an armed faction operating outside the authority of the Lebanese state, which gives no weight to the interests of Lebanon, nor to the lives of its people." The decision to prohibit all military and security activities by Hezbollah was "clear and irrevocable," he added.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa expressed his support for the Lebanese head of state, stating yesterday: "We stand with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in his efforts to disarm Hezbollah," he said during a videoconference with senior European officials, as reported by the official SANA news agency.
"We have reinforced our defence forces on the borders as a preventative measure to avoid the regional conflict spilling over into Syrian territory, to fight cross-border organisations, and to prevent them from using Syrian territory," the Syrian president added.
Parliament extends term
The war launched by Hezbollah and Israeli raids, which have caused the exodus of more than half a million Lebanese, have jeopardised the organisation of parliamentary elections in May. The Lebanese Parliament therefore voted yesterday in favour of a two-year extension of its normal four-year mandate, by a vote of 75 to 41, with four abstentions. The extension was granted due to "force majeure”.
To circumvent objections raised against the length of the postponement, MP Ali Hassan Khalil, Nabih Berri's right-hand man, emphasised that if circumstances were to allow for the organisation of elections, parliament could always reduce the two-year extension.
However, this argument failed to convince the main parties representing Christian voters, which were unsuccessful in obtaining a shorter extension.
The head of the Lebanese Forces parliamentary bloc, Georges Adwane, announced that his bloc will file an appeal with the Constitutional Council. His party suspects the speaker of parliament of extending the parliamentary term in order to change the electoral law and implement provisions of the Taif Agreement that are still on hold.
For his part, MP Melhem Khalaf explained that the extension of parliament's term complies with the principle of "necessity”, which legitimises it, but not with that of "proportionality," in relation to the circumstances of "force majeure" invoked. He said he was convinced that the Constitutional Council will rule in his favour.
Kataeb leader, Samy Gemayel, indicated that his party "would have preferred a one-year extension," which would have been "more logical”, but added that the gravity of the situation requires not to dwell on the matter.
MP Neemat Frem, one of the architects of the bill, in consultation with President Joseph Aoun and the speaker of parliament, stated that "those who think an extension of just a few months are being unrealistic."
"What is at stake right now," he explained, "is the future, even the very existence, of Lebanon. This necessitates allowing ourselves the necessary time for reflection to extricate the country from all dangers and perhaps reach a peace agreement with Israel."
Death of a priest and risk of annexation
On the military front, the eighth day of the war between Hezbollah and Israel was marked by the death of the Maronite priest of Kleyaa, Father Pierre el-Rahi, who, along with others, was trying to rescue victims from a bombed house. A second treacherous shell killed him and wounded four others.
The priest, along with the residents of Kleyaa, had refused to evacuate this Christian village, which had managed to "neutralise" its presence by preventing Hezbollah from using its roads and state-owned land. His death illustrates Israel’s desire to establish a "security zone" several kilometres wide on the ruins of dozens of border villages.
This morning, the Israeli army issued a warning that bombing “specific areas” in Sidon and Tyre is "imminent"
The organisation L’Œuvre d’Orient denounced “the risk of annexation and disappearance of villages south of the Litani River, particularly historic Christian villages,” which bear witness to Christ’s presence in these regions. As part of a scorched-earth policy, it was learned yesterday that the residents of Alma el-Chaab will in turn evacuate their village, under the protection of UNIFIL.
Monday saw a new wave of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and in the Bekaa Valley. In Beirut, Israeli aircraft targeted branches of al-Qard el-Hassan, Hezbollah’s financial institution. Six buildings housing its branches were razed to the ground. On Tuesday, the Israeli army spokesman once again called for the evacuation of the entire region south of the Litani River.
In a new report released Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that "the Israeli aggression, from dawn on Monday, 2 March until the afternoon of Monday, 9 March, resulted in 486 deaths, including more than 80 children, 1,313 people wounded, and 600,000 people displaced.”
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