Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib believed that Israel should not expand the war it is waging with the Hamas movement in and around Gaza. He described what he called the “explosion” of the situation in the Gaza Strip as “dangerous,” attributing it to Israel’s “arrogance” and its “permanent aggression” against the Palestinian people.
Bouhabib revealed, in an interview conducted with him by Asharq Al-Awsat in Washington before Hezbollah announced that it had attacked Israeli positions in Shabaa Farms on Sunday morning, that the Lebanese government had received a promise that “Hezbollah would not interfere” in the Gaza war unless it was “harassed.” Israel in Lebanon.
He described what he called the “explosion” of the situation in the Gaza Strip as “dangerous,” attributing it to Israel’s “arrogance” and its “permanent aggression” against the Palestinian people, stressing that Lebanon’s position on the developments matches the “courageous” Arab positions. He acknowledged that “Hezbollah is a regional issue, not a Lebanese issue that the Lebanese government can solve.”
Bouhabib touched on the “clarification” of the Lebanese borders with Israel, recalling that these borders were drawn in 1923, and were enshrined in the 1949 Armistice Agreement. He said that the Lebanese government “does not consider the Blue Line a border,” adding that the efforts made by US President Joe Biden’s senior advisor for affairs Amos Hochstein’s ability to agree on land borders after agreeing on maritime borders is “now on hold” until after the end of the currently ongoing war.
Bouhabib also confirmed that he is not a candidate for the presidency of the republic in Lebanon, adding that elections will take place for this purpose “sooner or later.” He strongly criticized the “empire” of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the way it dealt with the influx of Syrian nationals into Lebanon, revealing that the number of these people reached about two million. That is, 50 percent of the Lebanese, knowing that Lebanon also hosts about half a million Palestinian refugees. He pointed to “intense Western pressure” to stop Arab openness to the Syrian government led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The Lebanese minister was about to travel back from the United States to Lebanon when Asharq Al-Awsat hurriedly met him in a café in Washington, DC, and conducted a dialogue with him, interrupted by his phone calls to a number of senior officials.
Here is the text of the dialogue:
* Everyone is now watching what is happening in Gaza. There is a war declared. There is fear throughout the region, in addition to Lebanon, of sliding into a wide-scale war, as happened 50 years ago. What is your opinion?
– What is happening is dangerous. It is a result of Israeli arrogance; Because they do not accept the two-state solution, which was approved by the Arabs at a summit in Beirut. All of its provisions were approved: peace in exchange for land by returning to the 1967 borders. Israel now, especially this Israeli government, is intransigent, arrogant, contemptuous, and in constant aggression against the Palestinian people, and against the Christian and Islamic sanctities in Jerusalem. Its outcome cannot be other than what we see. Of course, none of us expected this to happen from Gaza, but the observers were afraid of an explosion. The explosion happened.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib during the Asharq Al-Awsat dialogue with him in Washington (Asharq Al-Awsat)
*Aren’t you afraid that Lebanon, and Hezbollah in particular, will be dragged into this war?
– I am abroad today, but in communication with the Prime Minister, (who) promised that Hezbollah will not interfere in what is happening. If Israel does not harass us, they will not be harassed, and they will not interfere at the present time. Today, Israel is defending itself there. It must not magnify and expand the war. At that time, only God knows what will happen.
* This situation poses a danger to Lebanon, which is already facing a very fragile situation now…
– Look, Lebanese institutions are undoubtedly weak, but security is stable, the army is present, and internal and foreign policy is in place. The government continues its work and responsibility. Of course we have problems, but the positions of the Lebanese government represent all of Lebanon.
The Arab position is “brave”
* Arab countries, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and others, began calling for an immediate ceasefire and a return to a peaceful path that gives the Palestinians their rights. Does Lebanon clearly support these Arab demands?
– This is a Lebanese demand and an Arab demand without a doubt, but Lebanon first. Because we benefit from the existence of an independent Palestinian state, which has its own entity and has its own power. Lebanon benefits from every peace that occurs in the region. Therefore, we support this brave Arab position. We also call on the United Nations to take a courageous decision regarding the return of the peace process and a return to the two-state solution.
* Lebanon had concluded an agreement with Israel to demarcate its maritime borders. We have seen the beginning of movements to explore the possibility of reaching another agreement regarding the land border. Recent developments in Gaza have come to confuse this matter. How did things develop?
– Of course, the issue is related to defining or clarifying the borders between Lebanon and Israel. Because the borders have been demarcated since 1923. Now talk about the issue will be delayed. It will not be his time in the international community. This is not the time, because what is most important is a ceasefire and the beginning of the peace process.
* What was Amos Hochstein finally doing?
– Talk about demarcating the borders began a while ago. Israel was not present. What concerns us is alleviating the problems in southern Lebanon, which has suffered and has been suffering for decades. Therefore, we asked the United Nations and the United States to seek to help Lebanon and Israel to show the borders that were actually drawn between Palestine and Lebanon in 1923, and were enshrined in the 1949 armistice agreement on the (Greek) island of Rhodes under the auspices of the United Nations.
Where are Lebanon’s borders?
* Does Lebanon insist on these borders? There is clear disagreement on some points…
– We do not consider the Blue Line to be a border. Rather, it is the Israeli withdrawal line in 2000. Therefore, we insist on the armistice line. An agreement was reached between us and Israel on some points through the United Nations. Therefore, we continue to complete what has happened to bring some peace to the south.
* Is there an American understanding of this Lebanese thinking or approach?
– Amos Hochstein expressed this, but in the end Israel is the one who decides or not. They say they can’t force Israel if it doesn’t want to. Now everything is postponed until the fighting in Gaza and on the Gaza border stops.
* At the same time, there are those who say, including here in the United States, that the Lebanese state has been confiscated from Hezbollah, and therefore the decision rests with this party and not with the Lebanese state…
– This talk is in fact devoid of principles. Because the agreement on demarcating the maritime borders was reached by this government. We had a president, without a doubt. Now there is no president of the republic, but we will elect a president sooner or later.
* when?
– I don’t know. I have no idea. I am not a representative and I do not deal with this matter.
I am not a presidential candidate
* Every Maronite in Lebanon is a natural born candidate for the Presidency of the Republic. Are you a candidate?
– never. I am not a candidate. I am waiting for the election of a president and the formation of a government so that I can devote myself to my retirement and rejoice in my last days.
The facts
2.5 million refugees
A Syrian and a Palestinian are in Lebanon
* Lebanon is in a fragile situation, not only because of the southern border, but also because of the Syrian war. We have recently witnessed extreme tension due to the sudden influx of tens of thousands, and perhaps hundreds of thousands, of Syrians into Lebanon. Why did this happen suddenly?
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib receives calls during his presence in Washington (Ali Barada)
The economic situation in Syria is very bad due to Western sanctions. Therefore, whoever lives in his village without work wants to immigrate. We Lebanese know this matter more than others. Because we have millions outside Lebanon who immigrated because of the economy, more than political or security reasons. We understand (why) they came, but we can no longer bear it. We have two million Syrians; This is equivalent to half of Lebanon’s current population of five million people, including one million abroad. There are four million Lebanese, two million Syrians, and half a million Palestinians. Lebanon cannot bear it. Unfortunately, the problems that are happening should not happen, but there should be international understanding. As long as the United Nations insists that UNHCR pay (money) to those in Lebanon, they will remain in Lebanon and will not return, even if the compensation is small. The UNHCR and Western countries consider these people to be political refugees, but they are not.
“International empire”
*Are you saying that the UNHCR poses a threat to Lebanon?
– I am not saying that it poses a danger, but the way it works increases the number of Syrians in Lebanon. Its cooperation is not complete with the Lebanese state, and even with the Syrian (authorities) to find out who is an economic refugee and who is a political refugee, then the UNHCR will not have much work. Today this international agency has an empire. We care that they understand the situation in Lebanon. We in the government, from its president to its foreign minister to its interior minister, always warn the United Nations in all our meetings about refugees, last year and this year, that we cannot continue in this way. Western nations are still insisting on their position.
Western pressure
* How can Arab countries contribute to solving Lebanon’s problems? Are you in contact with the main Arab countries to solve these problems that Lebanon is suffering from?
– The Committee for Communication with Syria consists of five countries along with the League of Arab States and its Secretary-General. Lebanon from it. It started with enthusiasm, but there was intense Western pressure on the committee not to give anything before the Syrian regime. It is enough that you returned the Syrian government to the university.
“Hizb allah”
* Are there attempts by you to improve the Lebanese government’s atmosphere with the Arab countries?
– Relations with Arab countries are going well. It exists, and there are permanent communications between us, and permanent cooperation between us. Some Arab countries have a problem with the presence of Hezbollah in Lebanon. We consider Hezbollah a regional issue and not a Lebanese issue that the Lebanese government can solve. So I would like to say that there is a better understanding of this, but this needs more work in order for us to agree on how to live together. The Arab countries, especially the Gulf countries, hope that Lebanon will return to what it was. You hope that we will have a president, a government, and peace, and that there will be no security problems at all, but after what happened in Palestine today, if they follow a successful peace process, it will help us in Lebanon.
2023-10-08 20:15:40
#Lebanese #Foreign #Minister #told #Asharq #AlAwsat #Israel #expand #war
