Macron, alongside Lebanese minister, warns against 'occupation'
French President Emmanuel Macron, hosting an event attended by a Lebanese minister, on Monday issued a warning that "occupation" does not bring security, in a message seen as directed at Israel.
"No occupation, no form of colonization -- not here, not in the West Bank, nor anywhere else -- is able to ensure the security of anybody," Macron said as he opened an exhibition at the state-funded Institute of the Arab World in Paris.
He was speaking alongside Lebanon's culture minister, Ghassan Salame.
The remark came as Israel waged an offensive on Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah, which launched rockets and missiles at Israel in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran that, at its start, killed the Islamic republic's supreme leader.
Israel has been conducting airstrikes, and sent ground troops into Lebanon's south in what its military has described as a "limited" incursion.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 1,000 people, according to Lebanese officials.
In the occupied West Bank, meanwhile, at least six Palestinians have been killed in attacks and buildings and cars have been torched by Israeli settlers since the start of the Middle East war.
Macron urged respect for international law, saying that "at a time that certain people want to have us believe that security can only be achieved by invading a scary neighbor, Lebanon reminds us of just one thing: the force of universalism".
The Paris exhibition is dedicated to Byblos, a city in Lebanon inhabited since 6900 BC that is considered the oldest port in the world.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://mobile.naharnet.com/stories/en/319133 |