Brussels, 7th August, 2024 – As the Jewish state is preparing for a coordinated attack from Iran and its proxies, European Coalition for Israel calls upon the International community to free Lebanon from the grip of terrorist organization Hezbollah which threatens to drag the country into a catastrophic war. The Republic of Lebanon, with its unique multicultural mosaic, was for many years considered a Jewel of the Middle East, until Syria, and later Iran turned the country into a vassal state, now controlled by its local proxy, terrorist organization Hezbollah.
Although Lebanon is bound by UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which calls for the disarmament of all armed militia groups, including Hezbollah and a withdrawal of their troops north of the Litani River, the international community keeps turning a blind eye to the failure of the Lebanese government to implement the resolution. Instead of fulfilling the UN resolution by disarming, Hezbollah has done the exact opposite by building up an arsenal of some 150 000 mortars, rockets and precision-guided missiles with a reach deep into Israel.
Since the Hamas terror attack on October 7, Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into Israel, forcing the Israeli government to evacuate its civilian population from the north to safety elsewhere in the country where also the displaced communities from the border regions to Gaza are living in temporary facilities. This situation is unsustainable and would not be tolerated by any other country. Still the pressure from the international community to “de-escalate” is on Israel.
Nevertheless, a de-escalation from both sides is needed to prevent a full-blown war which could mean the beginning of the end of modern Lebanon as we know it. This message was also implied by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres when he on June 21 called for “a ceasefire on the Israeli-Lebanese border to prevent a catastrophe beyond imagination.”
ECI wants to point out that the agreed path to de-escalation and cease-fire is for Hezbollah to fulfill its obligation under UNSC resolution 1701 and immediately withdraw from the Israeli border to the north of the Litani river.
Furthermore, Israel’s elimination of the renowned terrorist leader Fuad Shukr who is personally responsible for multiple terrorist attacks, does not require or entitle a retaliation of any kind. Here the word “proportionality” is fully applicable.
The European Coalition for Israel urgently calls on the international community, including the European Union, to play a more active role in order to free Lebanon from the grip of Hezbollah and prevent the terrorist organisation from dragging the whole country into what Secretary-General Guterres rightly calls a “catastrophic war beyond imagination.”
