BEIRUT: Several independent lawmakers, reformists and opposition parties called on Monday for Lebanon’s transitional government to declare a state of emergency in southern Lebanon and hand over control to the army.
They asked the parliament to adopt “a road map to de-escalate and spare Lebanon from a war that the Lebanese do not want and the official legitimate Lebanese institutions have not chosen to fight.”
MP Ashraf Rifi called for immediate action to stop all “unauthorized military activities and their apparatuses” in southern Lebanon.
At a news conference held by lawmakers, Rifi, speaking on behalf of the group, also said the Lebanese armed forces should be deployed to face any threats.
The MPs called on the government to step up diplomatic efforts to return to the armistice agreement signed in 1949 and to fully implement UN Resolution 1701.
Their appeal comes amid fears of an Israeli military escalation in the region against Hezbollah.
Rifi said the ongoing war has cost us “the lives of hundreds of Lebanese, thousands of destroyed housing units, in addition to the economic and environmental damage caused by daily Israeli attacks.”
He said he and his fellow MPs “strongly oppose Lebanon’s participation in a war it has nothing to do with and (represent) the majority of Lebanese”.
Rifi stressed “the need to separate the Lebanese and Palestinian tracks regarding what is happening in Gaza.”
He added: “We strongly condemn Israel’s actions at all levels, including systematic killing, displacement and colonization.”
“We want to protect our country and prevent it from being dragged into a wider war that has no other goal than to strengthen Iran’s position in the regional equation, does not benefit the Palestinian cause, and destroys Lebanon.”
“We will not accept that armed groups, whether local or foreign, operating on Lebanese territory, impose the logic of the unity of the arena, which the majority of Lebanese reject, because it brings hostility to Lebanon from the Arab and international communities, the last of which is Cyprus and the EU.”
He also emphasized “the importance of implementing UN Resolution 1701 in all its aspects by all parties, supporting the Lebanese army and security institutions to control the international borders in the south, east and north, and implementing international resolutions 1559, 1680 and other international treaties and related provisions Taif Agreement.”
Rifi called on the opposition MPs to “convene a parliamentary debate on the ongoing war in the south and its potential escalation and to support the points of the initiative that they presented”.
The appeal came as UNIFIL and various other organizations met in Shamma to discuss security and support for communities affected by the fighting in southern Lebanon.
UNIFIL said the needs of the displaced “are great and require a comprehensive approach”.
It is added that the meeting was strongly supported by the commander of the UNIFIL Sector West, Brig. General Enrico Fontana, who emphasized the importance of “complementarity between humanitarian organizations and UNIFIL in efforts to support both displaced and remaining communities in southern Lebanon.”
Fontana talked about improving basic services such as waste management, water, electricity and education.
He said that there is a noticeable trend of growth in the demand for firefighting equipment, humanitarian aid, medical services and medicines.
The meeting was attended by five UN agencies, a representative of the Humanitarian Forum of Lebanese International NGOs and 11 international NGOs including Mouvement Social, Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children and American East Refugee Aid.
Three national non-governmental organizations also participated — the Imam Sadr Foundation, NUSANED, Najee and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In another case, a senior Arab League official confirmed that the bloc “no longer classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.”
Hossam Zaki, assistant general secretary of the league, made the announcement in a televised statement broadcast by Al-Cairo news channel on Saturday evening.
Zaki, who visited Lebanese officials last week, said that “previous decisions of the Arab League designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, which led to a breakdown in communication. However, the agreement of member states not to use this language enabled communication with the party.
The Arab League “does not have an official list of terrorists, and its efforts do not include categorizing entities as terrorist organizations,” Zaki said.
In March 2016, the Arab League designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and “called on them to stop promoting extremism and sectarianism, interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and supporting terrorism in the region.”
The government in Lebanon and Iraq welcomed that decision with reservations.
Zaki’s visit to Lebanon last week, aimed at containing the escalation in the south, included a meeting with the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, Mohammed Rada.
Also on Monday, Israeli planes violated Lebanese airspace over Beirut and its suburbs, as well as Mount Lebanon.
Three Hezbollah members were also killed in an Israeli strike targeting a house in the border town of Hula.