United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, delivered the following message for the New Year: “Humanity is strongest when we stand together. 2024 must be a year for rebuilding trust and restoring hope. We must come together across divides for shared solutions. The United Nations will keep rallying the world for peace, sustainable development and human rights. Let’s resolve to make 2024 a year of building trust and hope in all that we can accomplish together.”
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon
Samir Geagea, the Lebanese Forces Party leader, affirmed that ‘what we are witnessing on our southern borders is not a legitimate Lebanese decision; neither the government convened and made it, nor was it discussed in the parliament, nor was there any agreement on it among Lebanese parties and factions.’
‘This decision was made by one party based on non-Lebanese considerations, and it is being implemented unilaterally, disregarding its seriousness. Until now, we have between 80,000 and 100,000 displaced individuals from the south,’ Geagea added.
He said, ‘Some believe that what is happening in the south falls under support for Gaza. For the record, we are 100 percent with Gaza and support and stand in solidarity with its people until the end. We condemn what it is subjected to; this is unacceptable on all levels. However, there is a question: How does the strike launched from the south help Gaza? Could Gaza experience something worse than what is happening now?’
Geagea continued, ‘According to military sci
ence, each geographical area bears a certain military force, and the Israeli force attacking Gaza is the maximum that can be placed in an area of 365 km2, equivalent to the size of Gaza. Therefore, what is happening in the south does not benefit Gaza; it harms it somewhere.’
Geagea’s remarks came during the annual dinner for expatriate engineers in the Lebanese Forces party at the party’s headquarters in Maarab.
In addition, he emphasized that ‘Gaza is the excuse,’ confirming that ‘the goal of what is happening on our southern borders is to say Hezbollah and behind it the axis of resistance, reaching Iran for everyone, that they are present in the equation to preserve their position in it to obtain some gains later when the time for negotiation comes. Then, the Palestinians are the ones who fought in Gaza, while others will sit at the negotiating table.’
He explained that ‘what is happening in the south harms Gaza; materially speaking, nothing has been accomplished, whether in terms of delaying the attack
or mitigating its severity. The attack is relentless from all directions and with all types of weapons without interruption.’
Furthermore, Geagea said, ‘What the Houthis are doing in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon appears as if Gaza events are part of a system or link in a series of Iranian militias in the region, starting from Lebanon, passing through Syria and Iraq, and reaching Yemen.’
He added, ‘Organizing a demonstration, even a small one, in any capital in the world benefits Gaza, as it affects decision-makers. But what is happening today is drowning its cause, which is a legitimate issue, in another matter, which is the strategic presence of Iran in the Middle East as a whole.
‘The one who pays the price for all these adventures is the southern citizen, as we have between 80,000 and 100,000 displaced individuals today and approximately 170 southern citizens martyred, solely for the sake of preserving the right of the resistance axis to sit at the negotiating table when the time comes, and this is un
acceptable,’ Geagea concluded.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon