Foreign affairs expert Waiel Awwad claims Israel has consistently failed to honour diplomatic agreements, citing continued strikes in Lebanon despite a ceasefire. He says Israel’s actions undermine regional stability and draws parallels to Gaza.
Foreign affairs expert Waiel Awwad on Saturday levelled severe accusations against Israel, claiming that the country has consistently failed to honour diplomatic agreements, after the IDF continued its strikes in southern Lebanon, despite the ceasefire. Speaking with ANI, Awwad claimed that Israel’s military actions are undermining the possibility of long-term regional stability, citing the situation in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
According to the expert, despite agreements signed between Israel and the Lebanese government two years ago, the region has seen a “continuation of attacks,” resulting in the loss of more than 4,000 Lebanese lives. “Israel have known that they have not ever honored any kind of an agreement. Ever since they signed the agreement two years ago with the Lebanese government, there’s nothing there were continuations of attacks; more than 4,000 Lebanese lost their life because of the Israeli attack,” he said.
Parallels Drawn to Gaza Situation
Drawing parallels to the situation in Gaza, the expert asserted that even after formalising agreements with Hamas, Israel has persisted in the “bombardment, the killing of civilians, and the total destruction of the Gaza Strip.” “It is the similar fashion they have done in the Gaza Strip, but they have signed the agreement also with Hamas and all, but yet they continue their bombardment, they continue the killing of the civilians, they continue the destruction total destruction of the Gaza Strip,” he stated.
Awwad further emphasised that the responsibility now lies with Israel to “withdraw from all the occupied territories of Lebanon” if it seeks to achieve lasting peace in the region. “So I believe it is the ball is in the court of Israel that if they wanted to live in peace in this part of the world, they should withdraw from all the occupied territories of Lebanon. Otherwise, this war will continue,” he noted.
Hezbollah’s Actions Called ‘Defensive’
Defending the current military activity, the expert noted that Hezbollah’s operations are confined to defensive actions within Lebanese territory, asserting that “they are not attacking Israeli territories.”
The expert warned that the conflict is unlikely to subside as long as the occupation persists, stating that the Lebanese people, whom the expert identified as the “aboriginal” population of southern Lebanon, have no intention of leaving and will continue their resistance. “Hezbollah is attacking Israel inside Lebanon territory. They are not attacking Israeli territories. So Israel has to define its border and make sure that they will pull out of these territories before it will be too much to face because neither the Lebanese people who are the aboriginal of the South of Lebanon going to leave this country and they will continue to fight and resistance will continue as long as there is an occupation,” he stated.
Conflicting Claims Over Strikes
His remarks come after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that the fresh strikes in Lebanon were made in retaliation for Hezbollah’s “repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire,” while maintaining that it remains committed to protecting its civilians and forces.
In a post on X, the Israeli Air Force claimed that Hezbollah launched over 50 strikes on Israeli forces, adding that the forces retaliated by striking dozens of “terrorist infrastructures” and terrorists in overnight strikes. Expressing adherence to the ceasefire agreement, the IAF stated that it will continue its actions to “remove any threat” from the Israeli civilians and forces.
On the other hand, Hezbollah, in a statement, said it attacked Israeli forces attempting to advance in southern Lebanon, while stating that it has “adhered to the ceasefire” since Friday afternoon, according to the Times of Israel. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)