Lebanon asks Israel to withdraw from occupied territories

Beirut(Lebanon): Lebanese Defence Minister Maurice Slim warned that the Israeli army must withdraw from the occupied Shebaa Farms, Kfarchouba hills, and the north of Ghajar town. ‘Lebanon was and is still in a position to defend its rights and sovereignty,’ Slim told Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, chief of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), during their meeting on Wednesday, urging a solution to border issues between the two countries along the Blue Line.

The Blue Line is a demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel as well as Lebanon and the Golan Heights published by the UN in 2000 to determine whether Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon, reports Xinhua news agency. It has been described as: ‘temporary’ and ‘not a border, but a line of withdrawal’. Slim also stressed the need to expedite the demarcation of maritime borders with Israel.

The Minister highlighted the importance of continued coordination and cooperation between the Lebanese army and UNIFIL to maintain calm and stability in the south, thanking the UN Security Council for extending the mandate of the international forces operating in southern Lebanon for one year.

For his part, Lazaro wished for the Lebanese army to increase its naval capabilities as stipulated in the recent UN Security Council resolution and provide the naval forces with the necessary equipment to carry out their duties as soon as possible.