Meeting of Maronite bishops in Bkirki, Feb. 1, 2023, alongside Patriarch Bechara al-Rai. (Credit: Twitter/@bkerki)
BEIRUT — Speaking at their monthly meeting in Bkirki, Maronite bishops on Wednesday condemned what they said were “attempts aimed at turning the South [into a territory for] exchanging messages,” days after exchanges of rocket fire between Lebanese and Israeli territory.
Their statement follows a similar message from Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Gebran Bassil.
“We call on the army and international emergency forces to implement Resolution 1701” of the UN Security Council, the bishops said. Resolution 1701 was adopted in 2006 as an attempt to end the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The head of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Lebanon on April 5, one day before dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon toward Israeli territory. Israel blamed Hamas for the operation.
The Israeli army retaliated on April 7 at dawn, with strikes on both southern Lebanon and Gaza, after rockets targeting Israel were also fired from the blockaded Palestinian city's environs.
Haniyeh's visit came after Israeli soldiers beat Palestinian worshipers at Al-Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem during the holy month of Ramadan. It is not clear whether his visit was previously scheduled or related to the rising violence.
The FPM's Gebran Bassil had expressed refusal Tuesday "to have anyone come and use our territory to send messages.”
“We only accept Lebanese weapons on our land, just as we refuse to launch missiles from our land whose source is non-Lebanese,” Bassil said during an iftar event.
On the issue of Lebanon's presidential vacuum, the bishops said that they "have followed the local, Arab and international political and diplomatic moves, which gives hope in terms of achieving the presidential election, and we appeal to those responsible to resort to their consciences."
Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai has repeatedly stated that the only solution to end the presidential vacuum in Lebanon is "the holding of an international conference" devoted to the issue, under the auspices of the United Nations.
"The United Nations, as well as any country that considers itself a friend of Lebanon, is concerned with the holding of such a conference," Rai said in November.
The international community has called on Lebanese leaders to elect a president quickly. Lebanon has been without a head of state since the end of former president Michel Aoun's mandate on Oct. 31.
Despite some 11 attempts since September 2022, Lebanese MPs still have not succeeded in electing the next head of state. Meanwhile, Najib Mikati's government is serving in a caretaker capacity, having assumed that status following parliamentary elections last May.