الرئيس اللبناني: إسرائيل وراء تردي الوضع في البلاد

The Lebanese President Joseph Aoun today (Saturday) held the Israeli occupation responsible for the deterioration of the situation in his country and the state's inability to exert its full authority, protect citizens, implement its decisions, and restrict arms, emphasizing that the current conditions in his country and the region necessitate the continued presence of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to implement Resolution 1701.

Aoun stated during his reception of British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the presidential palace in Baabda that "the continued Israeli occupation of the five hills, its repeated aggressions, and the failure to release the prisoners complicate the state's ability to exert its full authority, protect citizens, and implement its decisions, including the exclusivity of arms," clarifying that the number of the army in the south will reach ten thousand, and there will be no armed forces in the south other than the legitimate security forces and UNIFIL.

For his part, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed Britain's continued support for the Lebanese army in various fields and its keen follow-up on the situation in Lebanon.

The British ambassador to Lebanon, Hamish Cowell, had emphasized the need for efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire in Lebanon and to allow the full deployment of the Lebanese army in the south, as it is the only legitimate defender of the country.

Lammy's visit coincides with high-level political consultations being held to discuss the appropriate response to the American paper presented by the American envoy Thomas Barak on June 19 to the Lebanese presidency, which stresses the need to remove any weapons of "Hezbollah" from southern Lebanon, that Israeli forces withdraw from the area, and that the Lebanese army deploy its forces there.

The agreement also stipulates that the Lebanese government is responsible for dismantling all military infrastructure in southern Lebanon and confiscating all unauthorized weapons, while "Hezbollah" continues to evade responding to the paper despite the consensus of all three authorities (the presidency, the government, and the committee drafting the six-point paper) in the state to respond.

Israel has retained its forces in at least 5 locations in southern Lebanon after the deadline for its complete withdrawal under the ceasefire agreement has expired.