Lebanese parliament speaker calls for immediate election of president
In a televised address, Nabih Berri says Lebanon needs “to elect a president as soon as possible”. “It should unify all of us. It is a test so that we can protect Lebanon from all the threats including Israeli threats,” the speaker said.
The country has been without a president since the term of former head of state Michel Aoun ended in October 2022. The parliament has repeatedly failed to elect a successor, deepening tensions in a country facing a severe economic and political crisis.
“The only thing which would keep us all together is to protect Lebanon, so we can overcome this challenge and be stronger,” Berri said. “And also to demonstrate and show to the world that it is a country that can coexist with its different spiritual components, in contradiction with the racism of Israel,” he added.
Berri calls for displaced Lebanese to ‘come back to your land’
He has called all displaced Lebanese, including those abroad, to return home. “I call you to come back to your country, come back to your towns and come back to the places where you were born,” he said.
“Come back to your land. Your land will be stronger with your presence. You should come back. You should protect the land that saw the blood of all the martyrs,” he said.
“Come back to your land and bring back life to all the neighbourhoods that the Israeli occupation and aggression tried to destroy. The victory of your land relies on you coming back.”
Lebanon PM urges unity after end of ‘most cruel phase’ in country’s history
In a televised address, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is calling for unity after what he says was the “most cruel phase in Lebanese history”. Mikati stressed the jurisdiction of the Lebanese army to provide security in the south of the country following the ceasefire.
He also called on Israel to commit to the deal and withdraw from the south.
- The Lebanese government would like to thank the role of the United Nations, especially UNIFIL [the UN’s peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon].
- We will open a new chapter and close a chapter that was very painful.
- Since the first day of the war, the country and the state continued to exert all efforts. We would like to thank all the ministries for their work.
- We would like also to thank all the brotherly countries that helped and who are still helping us.
- Our people have the right to go back to their land, to their villages and to live there peacefully.
- We are in solidarity with our people in Bekaa, in the south, and in the suburbs of Beirut. We are there in order to help them remain steadfast with all the strength of the state. We will work with different civil societies and countries in order to build back all their destroyed areas and regions.
- Everyone thought there would be no coexistence in Lebanon. But Lebanese were able to show solidarity and host one another.
- I thank the army, the country’s healthcare workers, as well as its national carrier [Middle East Airlines].
- I also hope that we will be able to elect a new president.
If Israel attacks, Hezbollah has right to defend itself: Politician
Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah says the Lebanese group would retain the right to defend itself if Israel attacked.
He was responding to a question from a reporter at Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed about his reaction to Netanyahu’s statements on Tuesday that Israel retained military freedom of action and would strike the group if it violated the ceasefire deal.
Hezbollah lawmaker says group cooperating with army on south Lebanon
Influential Lebanese MP Hassan Fadlallah has denied that Hezbollah fighters have visible bases in south Lebanon, saying nobody could force residents to leave their villages.
There is “full cooperation” with the Lebanese state over strengthening the army’s deployment in south Lebanon, Fadlallah told AFP, adding that the group has “no visible weapons or bases”.
The ceasefire agreement between the group and Israel, implemented earlier this morning, stipulates that the Lebanese army be the only armed presence in southern Lebanon.
