The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement that it is “following with great concern the developments taking place in Palestine.” The military conflict between Hamas and the Israelis “comes as a direct result of Israel’s continued occupation of the Palestinian territories and its daily attacks on Islamic and Christian sanctities, its policy of settlement expansion, annexation of lands and depriving the steadfast Palestinians of their minimum rights,” according to the Foreign Ministry.
It stressed that “the solution lies in the international community assuming its responsibility to pressure Israel into returning to the peace option with its well-known references.” The ministry called mainly for a “return to the Arab Peace Initiative that was issued by the Beirut Summit in 2002, the establishment of the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes.”
The Ministry warned in its statement that “a failure to find a just, lasting and comprehensive solution based on ending the occupation of Arab lands and resolving the Palestinian issue threatens international peace and security.”
