Statement
September 12, 2022
“Saydet El Jabal” Gathering held its periodic meeting online and issued the following statement:
Once again, Hezbollah puts Lebanon amid spiraling tensions internally and regionally by challenging resolution 2650 aiming at extending the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in the South of Lebanon, to the extent of describing it as an occupation force.
In fact, Hezbollah is causing a fake problem with the UNIFIL that is committed to safeguarding stability in the South and that avoids taking part in any conflict of any type. Yet, Hezbollah wanted to transform the UNIFIL into a point of clash with the international community when the negotiations between the United States and Iran stalled, which had negative repercussions on the maritime borders’ demarcation between Lebanon and Israel.
Challenging resolution 2650 and causing an escalation against the UNIFIL coincided with an attempt by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to omit the referral to resolution 1559 from the request to renew the UNIFIL mandate under resolution 1701. This proves once again that Hezbollah is determined to challenging the resolutions of the international legitimacy which will eventually lead to further isolating Lebanon from the international scene, subordinating the country to Iranian interests, and violating the Constitution that stipulates Lebanon’s commitment to these decisions.
What is more dangerous is that resolution 1701 have represented since 2006 the security safeguard in South Lebanon, and any attempt to infringe it or undermine it is a direct threat to the stability of the South and will push the Lebanese to embark on miscalculated adventures!
Accordingly, Saydet El Jabal Gathering holds Hezbollah fully accountable for any security or military escalation in the South under the justification of amending the UNIFIL mission which duties are exclusively linked to peace keeping.
The Gathering warns Hezbollah and the Lebanese authority against the consequences of overriding resolution 1701 or any international resolution about Lebanon, for it will violate the Lebanese Constitution and undermine the foundations of stability in Lebanon.
The Gathering draws the attention of the Lebanese to the fact that the behavior of Hezbollah against the UNIFIL and against the decisions of the international legitimacy represent the specifications based on which the party wants to elect the new President, a President who would rebel against international resolutions. We strictly condemn this behavior and we warn the opposition against the dangers of refraining from pushing back against Hezbollah’s presidential project. This can only happen through uniting around a Lebanese project for the Presidential elections.
In conclusion, the Gathering stresses that the only occupation in Lebanon is the Iranian occupation through the weapons of Hezbollah, while the UNIFIL was and will remain a peace keeping force, and its history is a witness to that!
