As fear of Hezbollah presence grows amongst the “Israelis”, President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday told his French counterpart that “Israel” could be forced to strike Hezbollah’s rocket-building operations “in the heart of Beirut”, a development he warned would drag Lebanon into a punishing regional war that neither side wants.
Rivlin made the remarks during a meeting with France’s President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace in Paris during an official visit to mark 70 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and France.
“If we are threatened from Lebanon, we will not stand by,” Rivlin told Macron, according a statement from his office. “Hezbollah is creating facilities to produce and convert precision-guided missiles in the heart of Beirut under civilian cover and with Iranian support”.
“This threatens ‘Israeli’ security and could force us to respond, dragging the region into escalation that could badly harm Lebanon.”
The last major conflict between the “Israeli” entity and Lebanon was the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
Rivlin stressed “Israel” will hold the Lebanese government responsible for all military activity in its territory and urged Macron to use France’s diplomatic clout to convince Beirut to contain Hezbollah.
“Lebanon bears sovereign responsibility for all Hezbollah actions,” he said. “France is a power with decisive influence in our region and it is vital that she understands that Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese system. I expect France to exert whatever pressure necessary on the Lebanese government to display its sovereignty and rid itself of Iranian and Hezbollah involvement that could lead us to war”.
His warnings came as “Israel” went increasingly public about its airstrikes in Syria.
“Israel” alleges that Hezbollah is working to set up factories in Beirut to produce precision-guided missiles it will ultimately direct against the entity.
“We say clearly to the Lebanese government and to its allies around the world: Hezbollah’s aggression must be stopped before we find ourselves dragged into a conflict that neither Lebanon nor ‘Israel’ want,” said Rivlin.
Macron is scheduled to visit Lebanon in early February, the statement from Rivlin’s office said.
During the press conference, Macron said that the entity’s security “remains for us one of the most important principles of regional security” and that he had expressed his concerns to Rivlin over recent rocket fire from Syria directed at the “Israeli” entity.
“We will continue to keep ‘Israeli’ interests… at the forefront of our mind and will make sure that our partners do the same,” Macron said.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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