Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib called for the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 and Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon. For Bou Habib, “the only way to restore calm to Lebanon is to stop the war in Gaza.”
The Lebanese head of diplomacy made his remarks on Tuesday morning at a press conference held in Cairo with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdel Atty.
“Calls by some countries for their nationals to leave Lebanon harm our economy, especially during the tourist season, and we are striving to avoid a generalized war that would harm the interests of all countries in the region,” he added.
Asked about the (expected) Iranian strike against Israel following the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday, Bou Habib “hoped that this retaliation would not be a collective or strong response from the axis of the Moumana’a (Iran, Hezbollah, Syria, and the Houtis in Yemen) so that it would not lead to an all-out war.”
For his part, Abdel Atty condemned “the repeated attacks against Lebanon, including last Tuesday’s bombing in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
He also called for “the immediate implementation of Resolution 1701 by all parties” and warned that “the current escalation risks sliding into a wider war.”
“We value the safety of Egyptian nationals in Lebanon,” he added, while reiterating “Egypt’s support and solidarity with Lebanon, its sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”
