Lebanese Prime Minister: We can only affirm our right to defend our land and sovereignty by all available means
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed that in the face of the systematic and dangerous Israeli escalation, Lebanon can only affirm its right to defend its land, sovereignty and dignity by all available means.
Mikati said – in a speech he delivered on the occasion of Army Day from the Lebanese Army Command headquarters in Yarzeh “northeast of Beirut”, according to the Lebanese News Agency today, Friday – “Our people in the south, the Bekaa and yesterday in the southern suburbs of Beirut are still facing Israeli attacks that have left hundreds of martyrs and wounded citizens, soldiers and resistance fighters, and displaced families who lost their homes and burned their properties, and nothing indicates that Israeli arrogance will stop at a limit.”
He added, “In the face of the systematic and dangerous Israeli escalation, of which we have witnessed bloody chapters during the past few hours, we can only affirm our right to Defending our land, sovereignty and dignity by all available means, and do not hesitate in this choice no matter how great the sacrifices are.” He continued, saying: “We informed our sister and friendly countries that we are advocates of peace and not advocates of war, because we seek permanent stability by recovering the occupied parts of our dear south, and the Israeli enemy’s commitment to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 with all its provisions, and all Israeli attacks will not be of any use in dissuading us from that.” The Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister said: “We have welcomed, and continue to welcome, any initiative that achieves what we want in order to recover what remains of our occupied land, and to strengthen the deployment of the army on it in cooperation with international forces, to prevent any violation of our internationally recognized borders, so that our people in the south can enjoy stability and security, especially since they have made sacrifices in order to liberate The land.
He pointed out that the presidential vacancy does not only spoil the joy of this national occasion, “Army Day,” but also the security conditions that Lebanon is experiencing, from its south to its Bekaa, and yesterday reaching the southern suburbs of the capital, as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression on Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, in addition to the economic and social distress that the Lebanese in general and the military in particular are suffering from, in addition to worrying regional developments that warn of an increase in the level of danger and its expansion from one region to another.
Mikati stressed that there is an urgent need for radical reforms and sustainable solutions that can only be available with a president who ensures the protection of the system that the Lebanese have accepted and that is based on the principle of separation of powers, their balance and cooperation, and that is based on constants specified by the Lebanese National Accord Document that was approved in the “Taif” Agreement.
