Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the accompanying delegation received by Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail, December 28, 2022. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
BEIRUT — Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday received Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the accompanying delegation at the Grand Serail, with Mikati assuring that Lebanon is committed to comply with all the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
The resolution helped end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah following 2006 deadly war.
Mikati reaffirmed "Lebanon's commitment to respect all the provisions of Resolution 1701 and to work to implement them," stressing that "all security, military and judicial authorities have not hesitated and will not hesitate, even for a moment, to do what it takes to know the identity of the shooters [on the UNIFIL convoy] and bring them to justice."
Mikati also thanked the Spanish delegation for their visit "as a sign of international solidarity with Lebanon" and thanked Spain for its large contingent of about 600 Spanish peacekeepers.
On Dec. 14, Irish soldier Sean Rooney, 23, was killed and three of his colleagues were wounded after the UNIFIL convoy they were traveling in came under fire near the village of Aaqbiye, South Lebanon. One of the injured, Private Shane Kearney, was evacuated to a hospital in Ireland in serious condition.
This is the first death of a UNIFIL soldier in a violent incident in Lebanon since January 2015, when a Spanish peacekeeper was killed by Israeli fire.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese PM stressed that "what adds to the burden of economic hardship in Lebanon is the presence of a large number of displaced Syrians and Palestinian refugees on Lebanese soil."
He also said that their presence has an impact on "security, stability and the economy and that this has been "exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic ... and the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut."
Lebanon claims to host 1.5 million Syrian refugees, the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, while some 839,000 Syrian refugees are currently registered with the UNHCR. The exact number of Syrians is not known because the Lebanese government has asked UNHCR to stop registering new refugees who flooded into the country since 2015. These may be registered with the agency and in some cases receive assistance, but they are not officially registered.
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez, for his part, expressed his country's "willingness to support the work of UNIFIL in South Lebanon" noting that "the Spanish contingent is the largest contingent since 2006."
"We welcome the reception given by Lebanon to the Syrian displaced persons, despite the crises it suffers, and understand the interest of Lebanon for their voluntary return to their country," he also said. Sanchez also stressed that his country "will preside next year the Executive Council of the European Union." "One of our priorities is to (...) strengthen relations between Lebanon and the European Union in the fields of alternative energy, agriculture, infrastructure and youth development," he concluded.
The Spanish delegation was then received in Ain al-Tine by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Berri welcomed "the visit of the Spanish Prime Minister and the accompanying delegation" and praised "the role of Spain and its support to Lebanon."
He also expressed his readiness to work "for the development of cooperation formulas between the two countries, especially at the parliamentary and legislative levels." He also stressed that Lebanon should elect a new president in order to "enter a phase of solution and exit the crisis."