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Guterres urges Hezbollah disarmament and Israeli withdrawal form south Lebanon villages

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In his 32nd semi-annual on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed his call for “urgent reforms,” an “end to corruption” and a “swift” formation of a government in Lebanon, Asharq el-Awsat reported on Saturday.

Guterres warned in his report that Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian war “poses risks to the stability of Lebanon and the region.” He urged “regional countries,” in reference to Iran, to “encourage” the transformation of Hezbollah into a “civil political party, and to disarm it.”

“It demonstrates the failure of Hezbollahto disarm and its refusal to be held accountable to the state institutions,” he said, calling on Hezbollah and other concerned parties “not to engage in any military activity inside or outside Lebanon.

Guterres also reiterated calls on Israel to “commit to its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions, and ro withdraw its forces from the northern part of Ghajar and an adjacent area north of the Blue Line.”

Guterres also urged “transparent and credible” investigation of the massive Beirut port explosion that fattened large parts of the capital last august ,

He also urged Lebanese authorities to carry out swift reforms and put an end to corruption.

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2 responses to “Guterres urges Hezbollah disarmament and Israeli withdrawal form south Lebanon villages”

  1. vs Avatar
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    As reported by The Marker, this week in Nakoura will be two working meetings of the Israeli and Lebanese negotiating groups, discussing the border of the zone of economic interests of the two countries.

    The publication notes that the controversy unfolded around two border lines. One was in 1923 as the border of the British and French territories under the mandate, the second in 1949, during the conclusion of the ceasefire agreements after the war of independence.

    Both countries, when calculating the territory and determining the boundaries, proceed from their agreements with Cyprus. However, different approaches to the definition of the Israeli-Lebanese border have led to the fact that Lebanon claims 850 square kilometers of the Israeli economic zone.

    In Lebanon, the publication made on the social network Twitter by the daughter of the head of state, Claudine Aoun, caused a great resonance. She believes that not only maritime borders, but also the problem of refugees should be discussed in negotiations with Israel. According to her, the dialogue with the Israelis serves the interests of Lebanon.

    The leader of the Free Patriots Movement, Gibran Bassil, who is married to President Aoun’s second daughter, was forced to refute the publication of the Israeli media, according to which he repeatedly met with Israeli representatives and was responsible for consulting with Hezbollah on issues related to Israel.

    According to analysts, the public debate in Lebanon on these issues and statements emanating from the leaders’ entourage indicate that the country of cedars has de facto recognized Israel’s right to exist.

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    On Wednesday, October 28, negotiations on the demarcation of the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon continued at the headquarters of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Southern Lebanon (UNIFIL). UNIFIL says that the second stage of negotiations will last two days.

    The talks are taking place in the border town of Nakura (bordering the Israeli region of Rosh HaNikra). Security is provided by UN forces.

    As noted earlier, this is the first civil negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in the last 30 years. They are held under the auspices of the UN and with American mediation.

    The core of the Israeli delegation is made up of representatives of the Ministry of Energy, headed by Director General Uri Adiri. It includes political adviser to the head of government Reuven Azar, political director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alon Bar, head of the IDF strategic planning department, Brigadier General Oren Seter.

    Lebanon is represented in the negotiations by representatives of the armed forces, as well as a lawyer specializing in maritime law and a representative of the Department of Energy. The involvement of civilian specialists has provoked the outrage of Hezbollah and Amal.

    The US Undersecretary of State for the Middle East David Schnecker attended the opening ceremony. At the same time, at the current talks, Washington is represented by the US Ambassador to Algeria, John Deroche.

    Initially, it was assumed that the negotiations will affect both the sea and land borders, but as a result, they discussed the future of the water area, which is only 850 square kilometers – 2% of Israel’s maritime economic zone. Representatives of the Jewish state emphasize that the negotiations are not political, but technical in nature.

    There is no agreement between Israel and Lebanon on the delimitation of exclusive economic zones. Both countries, when calculating the territory and determining the boundaries, proceed from their agreements with Cyprus. However, different approaches to the definition of the Israeli-Lebanese border have led to the fact that Lebanon claims 850 square kilometers of the Israeli economic zone.

    The disputed territory is part of the Lebanese “block 9”, supposedly rich in natural gas. In early February 2018, an international consortium consisting of French Total, Italian Eni and Russian Novotek signed a contract with Lebanon for its exploration.

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