Lebanon’s opposition MPs on Monday issued the following statement:
“With escalation and threats reaching their highest levels since October 8, and growing fears of the war spreading, which has already cost us hundreds of Lebanese lives and destroyed thousands of homes, in addition to the economic and environmental damage from daily Israeli attacks, the current escalation poses significant threats to Lebanon. This is especially critical amid the political, economic, and financial crises the country is facing, and the ongoing obstruction of electing a President who could restore governance and institutional stability.
From a sense of national responsibility and our duty to represent the Lebanese who strongly oppose involving Lebanon in an unrelated war, and who form a significant majority, we have acted promptly. We, as Opposition MPs, are holding this press conference to sound the alarm with rationality and national responsibility. We aim to present our vision through a roadmap that defuses the escalation an
d spares Lebanon from a devastating war. Lebanon should not bear the cost of any new equations.
Hence, we would like to emphasize several points:
First: We stress the necessity of not linking the Lebanese and Palestinian tracks concerning what is happening in Gaza and the need to separate them. While we consistently affirm our support for the Palestinian people and particularly for the people of Gaza, the legitimacy of the Palestinian cause, our adherence to the two-state solution principle and the Beirut Summit Declaration, and our absolute condemnation of Israel’s practices on all levels, including systematic killing, displacement, and settlement activities, we believe these issues are separate from the need to protect our homeland and prevent it from being dragged into a wider war, which serves no purpose other than to elevate Iran’s status in the regional equation. We will not accept being drawn into a full-scale war that does not benefit the Palestinian cause and destroys Lebanon.
We will not allow ar
med groups operating on Lebanese territory, whether local or foreign, to impose the logic of “unified arenas,” which is rejected by the majority of Lebanese, in service of the regional resistance project that exploits the Palestinian cause without serving it in any way, and to bring enmity upon Lebanon with the Arab and international communities, most recently Cyprus and the European Union.
Second: We reiterate the importance and necessity of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 in all its aspects by all parties, and supporting the Lebanese army and security institutions in controlling the international borders south, east, and north, and implementing the relevant international resolutions 1559 and 1680 and other related international treaties signed by the Lebanese state, which must be fully implemented to establish the state’s sovereignty over its territory and its decision on war and peace, in addition to the relevant clauses of the Taif Agreement.
Third: We affirm that avoiding a wider war t
han the current one is still possible, and this requires the caretaker government to assume its responsibilities, which it has abandoned since the first day of the war, by immediately:
Putting an end to all military activities outside the framework of the Lebanese state and its agencies, originating from Lebanese territory and from any party.
Declaring a state of emergency in the south and handing over control to the Lebanese army.
Tasking the Lebanese army with confronting any aggression on Lebanese territory.
Moving diplomatically to return to the 1949 Armistice Agreement and fully implement UNSC Resolution 1701.
Fourth: We call for a parliamentary session to discuss the ongoing war in southern Lebanon and the dangers of its expansion, and for the nation’s MPs to adopt the above four points as a roadmap to defuse the escalation and spare Lebanon a war that the Lebanese people do not want and that the legitimate official Lebanese institutions have not decided to engage in.”
Source: National News Agenc
y – Lebanon