Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdallah Bou Habib, addressed the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday focusing on the issue at the southern border and in Palestine.
He called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the safe return of people on both sides of the border to their villages.
In his speech, Bou Habib developed six key points to facilitate the “rapid and safe return of displaced persons to border areas”. Southern Lebanon residents were forced to flee the region after October 7, due to daily Israeli strikes. The minister also insisted on the need for Israel to end land, sea and air violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and its internationally recognized borders.
Bou Habib also called on the international community to support the Lebanese government in deploying the Army south of the Litani.
He also addressed the issue of the borders between Lebanon and Israel emphasizing the need to respect the internationally recognized borders between both countries drawn in 1923 and confirmed under the armistice agreement of 1949.
Bou Habib also reminded that Lebanon had issued a request to renew the mandate of UNIFIL.
In his speech, Mr. Bou Habib denounced “the international community’s inability to put an end to the conflict that has persisted since the outbreak of the war in Gaza”. He recalled that “Lebanon rejects any form of war on its territory, which could have negative repercussions not only on the region but also on Europe”. The key to lasting peace lies in the implementation of the two-state solution”, he insisted.
