Diab urges caution, Israel vows action amid border tension

Leader of Lebanese Forces Party blames Hezbollah for crises

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said yesterday Israel had violated his country’s sovereignty with a “dangerous military escalation” along the frontier on Monday and urged caution after a rise in border tensions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would do “everything necessary” to defend itself, a day after saying Israeli forces had thwarted an attempt by Hezbollah to infiltrate across the frontier. The Iranian-backed Shiite group denied this.

“I call for caution in coming days because I fear the situation will deteriorate in light of heightened tensions on our border,” Diab said on Twitter. Israel was trying to “change the rules of engagement,” he said. Lebanon’s government tasked the foreign minister with filing a complaint about the “Israeli assault on the south” to the UN Security Council.

Israeli forces have been on alert along the border in anticipation of Hezbollah retaliation for the killing of one of its members a week ago in an alleged Israeli attack in Damascus.

Visiting Israel’s northern military headquarters yesterday, Netanyahu said Israeli forces would continue to take action “to prevent Iranian military entrenchment in the region”.

His comment suggested that attacks in Syria, where Hezbollah fighters are deployed to support President Bashar Al Assad, would continue.

Government ‘has no sovereignty in the south’

Meanwhile, the leader of a major Christian group in Lebanon blamed Hezbollah and its local allies led by President Michel Aoun for the rapidly deteriorating economy and worsening relations with neighbouring Arab countries, saying the only solution is for them to leave power.

Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces Party, told The Associated Press that the military activity was a clear indication the current Lebanese government, which Hezbollah supports, doesn’t have sovereignty in the south.

“Yesterday’s incident gives a clear idea about the state of sovereignty for the Lebanese state. Is that acceptable?’’ Geagea said in an interview. “Which Arab and foreign countries want to deal with a government that considers itself nonexistent at a time when there is a security danger along its border?’’