Salam warns over stability if Israel doesn't withdraw from South

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stressed Tuesday that “the attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs and the other Israeli attacks represent a violation of the cessation of hostilities arrangements,” adding that “it is necessary to activate the monitoring mechanism to put an end to these attacks.”

“Lebanon wants an end to all these violations and to the Israeli occupation of the five hills and all Lebanese territory,” Salam added, in a meeting with a delegation from the Press Syndicate.

“If Israel doesn’t fully withdraw, that will jeopardize stability,” the PM warned, adding that “Lebanon is committed to the agreement and the Israeli side must in turn abide by it.”

“We have an interest in keeping the U.S. and French stances on our side to achieve that,” Salam went on to say.

Revealing that efforts are still ongoing to “rally all diplomatic forces to halt the attacks,” the premier pointed out that “communication is ongoing with the Americans, the French and all influential forces, especially Arab and European countries, to maintain this pressure and activate it further.”

Asked about Hezbollah’s stance on limiting arms to the hands of the state, Salam said: “Hezbollah always announces that it stands behind the state and the state has taken a clear decision in this regard based on the ministerial statement, which Hezbollah voted in its favor.”