BEIRUT, March 2 (KUNA) -- Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that those who launched rockets from Lebanese territory toward the occupied Palestinian territories bear full responsibility for their actions.
Speaking at an emergency Cabinet session he chaired, attended by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, ministers and Army Commander General Rudolph Haikal to discuss the latest developments, Aoun said those who fired the rockets "do not take into account the interest of their people, the safety of their environment and Lebanon." "There are those who want to drag the country into objectives that have nothing to do with us," he said, noting that diplomatic means "may be slow, but they ultimately achieve their goals, even if delayed." He considered that what occurred "is neither a defense of Lebanon nor protection of the Lebanese," pointing to scenes of buildings collapsing on residents while asleep, bringing further tragedy, destruction and displacement to people in southern Lebanon and Beirut.
For his part, Prime Minister Salam said, "We have been trying for some time to act rationally and cautiously to avoid internal confrontations amid the crisis we are going through, but those who launched the rockets are not unknown." Salam said the launching of rockets and drones constitutes "a violation of the state's firm position that the decision of war and peace rests solely with it," calling on those responsible to bear the consequences of their actions.
The government requested all military and security agencies to take immediate measures to implement the decision, prevent any military operations or rocket and drone launches from Lebanese territory and arrest violators.
Lebanon witnessed renewed security escalation earlier Monday after rockets were fired from its territory toward the occupied Palestinian territories, prompting Israeli occupation airstrikes on southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs, resulting in dozens of casualties. (end) ayb.aa