Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, proposed on Monday to numerous international parties the idea of a new UN Security Council resolution that would support the territorial integrity of Lebanon and call for a permanent cease-fire along the Lebanese-Israeli border, according to state-run National News Agency.
Bassil pitched his idea in a letter sent to the ambassadors of the UN Security Council, of countries involved in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), of the "Group of Five" following up on the crisis (France, USA, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar), of the Vatican, the EU and to the UN Special Coordinator to Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka. Copies of his letter have also been sent to the Head of Parliament, Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in daily skirmishes at the Lebanese-Israeli border since Oct. 8, the day after the beginning of the Hamas-Israel war.
According to Bassil, this resolution would be "based on the principles contained" in UNSC Resolution 1701, which put an end to the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. The 1701 resolution, which was not respected by either side, calls for the full cessation of hostilities, the deployment of Lebanese Armed Forces to southern Lebanon, parallel to the withdrawal of Israeli forces behind the Blue Line, strengthening the UN peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) to facilitate the entry of the army into the region and the establishment of a demilitarized zone between the Blue Line and the Litani River, where Hezbollah operates.
The new resolution proposed by Bassil would emphasize "its strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon within its internationally recognized borders, as contained in the General Armistice Agreement between Israel and Lebanon of March 23, 1949."
This armistice was one of a series of agreements signed in 1949 between Tel Aviv and its Arab neighbors to put an end to the first Arab-Israeli war, declared in May 1948 following the proclamation of the State of Israel by Zionist militias in Palestine.
The new resolution would also support and sustain a "permanent ceasefire" along Lebanon's southern border.
Bassil added that if adopted, "Lebanon must respect" this resolution, which would "put an end to Israeli military operations against our country and our people."
"We are not advocates of dragging Lebanon into regional wars, nor do we want Lebanon to once again become a theater for other people's wars," he said.
In addition, he said that Lebanon needs to urge the international community to make more "efforts to deter Israel from its aggression and to restore stability and calm to [the] southern border before the current conflict worsens and spreads to other regions and territories."
Bassil also called for the immediate implementation of UNSC 1701, "in all its provisions" and for condemning "Israel's continuous violation of the resolution."
Moreover, Bassil listed his priorities, which include the respect of the Lebanese constitution, the election of a president and the implementation of social and economic reforms.
"These priorities are not contingent on regional developments," he said.