Palestinians salvage items from a damaged UN-run school in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, May 31, 2024. (Credit: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP)
Lebanon on Saturday welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden's statements on "the need to stop the war in Gaza, Israel's withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave and the exchange of prisoners."
In a statement, Lebanon's Foreign Ministry said it saw the plan as "an opportunity to implement the two-state solution." It also called for "initiatives aimed at restoring calm to the south Lebanon border to include full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701," which ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
"It is time for Israel to withdraw from the last occupied Lebanese territories, including the Shebaa Farms and the Kfar Shuba Hills, to withdraw to the internationally recognized Lebanese borders and to end its land, sea and air violations, in order to achieve lasting stability in south Lebanon," the ministry said.
Nearly eight months after the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Biden presented an Israeli roadmap for a cease-fire and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip. He called on Hamas to accept the plan, which he said had been submitted via a Qatari mediator. "Once a cease-fire and hostage agreement have been reached, it will be possible to make many other advances, including restoring calm along Israel's northern border with Lebanon," Biden added.
