The assassination on Tuesday of Saleh al-Arouri, a founding member of the Al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) and vice-president of Hamas’ political bureau, prompted numerous reactions in Lebanese political circles on Wednesday, with various leaders denouncing a “violation” of sovereignty.
The leader of the Kataeb party, Samy Gemayel, condemned “an aggression against Lebanese sovereignty.”
“The political and military authorities, or at least what’s left of them, should act to avoid endangering the lives of the Lebanese,” wrote Gemayel on his X account. He stressed that the Lebanese people refuse to allow their country “to be turned into a military rear base and missile launch pad for the benefit of any country in the world.”
On a similar note, the Amal movement called on the international community to “act quickly to put an end to the Israeli offensives, before it’s too late.”
As for the Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdellatif Deriane, he criticized Israel for “trying, by all means, to drag Lebanon into war.”
For his part, the caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdallah Bou Habib, said that steps had been taken with Hezbollah to “persuade it not to react to the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri.”
In an interview with BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday evening, Bou Habib added that Lebanon would know “within the next 24 hours whether Hezbollah will respond to this murder.”
“Neither the Lebanese nor Hezbollah want to be drawn into a regional conflict,” he added.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian also denounced the attack on Saleh al-Arouri, saying that “this terrorist act proves that Israel has failed to achieve its objectives in Gaza, despite the support of the United States.”
The attack on Hamas’ second in command was also denounced by the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), along with several other political leaders.
