Lebanon warns Hamas against undermining national sovereignty, security

Beirut: Lebanon’s Supreme Defence Council has issued a recommendation to the government, warning Hamas against carrying out “any actions that could undermine the country’s sovereignty and national security”.

The warning followed a council meeting chaired by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, attended by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Cabinet Ministers, and senior military and security officials on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a statement released after the meeting, Mohammad Al-Mustafa, the Council’s Secretary-General, said it decided to submit a recommendation to the Cabinet that includes “a warning to Hamas against using Lebanese territory to carry out any activities that compromise Lebanese national security, affirming that the most stringent measures and necessary actions will be taken to end any violation of Lebanese sovereignty definitively”.

On April 20, the Lebanese Army announced it had foiled an attempt to launch rockets from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel.

This came just days after the April 16 arrest of Lebanese and Palestinian individuals accused of launching rockets on March 22 and 28 toward northern Israel — attacks for which Hezbollah denied responsibility and no group has claimed.

President Aoun emphasised during the meeting the “importance of maintaining security, stability, and asserting state authority,” stressing “zero tolerance for turning Lebanon into a platform for destabilisation”.

He added that while the Palestinian cause remains important, Lebanon must not be dragged into wars or exposed to unnecessary danger.

Amid ongoing security developments in Syria, Aoun stressed “the need to contain any potential fallout that could negatively affect Lebanon’s internal stability or worsen the Syrian refugee crisis”.

Prime Minister Salam reiterated “the necessity of surrendering all illegal weapons in line with the National Accord Document and the government’s ministerial statement, and preventing Hamas or any other factions from destabilising Lebanon’s national and security interests”.

“The integrity of Lebanese territory is paramount,” he added, while reaffirming Lebanon’s “support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination on their land in accordance with international law and the Arab Peace Initiative”.

Israel has continued to strike Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreed in November to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah that included a bombing campaign and ground incursion.

Under the deal, Hezbollah was to withdraw north of the Litani River and dismantle military sites to its south.

Israel was to pull out of southern Lebanon but has kept troops in five positions it calls “strategic”.

IANS