Flag of the Kataeb party. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — The Kataeb party called on the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and the caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday to insure that Hezbollah takes a clear position in favor of an immediate cease-fire, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in a conflict since last October, which escalated into a war in Lebanon last month. More than 2,300 people in Lebanon have been killed since Oct. 8, 2023.
Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general sheikh Naim Qassem said earlier today that a cease-fire is the key to ending the current conflict. Earlier in his speech, he stated, "You cannot separate Lebanon from Palestine," which raised concerns about the separation of the two fronts.
Following a meeting of its political bureau, led by party president Sami Gemayel, the Kataeb party called on Berri and Mikati to ensure that Hezbollah agrees to an "immediate cease-fire, free from external dictates." The party also urged the government to instruct the Lebanese army to deploy along the border, backed by a "firm political decision, international resolutions, and [United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon] UNIFIL forces," in order to "block Israel, force it into direct confrontation with international public opinion, and eliminate any pretext for continuing its aggression and incursions into Lebanese territory."
The party's statement emphasized the need for two parallel tracks to resolve the current war. "The first is a security [track] that restricts arms to legitimate Lebanese forces and prevents any group from acquiring them, given that such weapons have only brought destruction to the country. The second is a political track that calls for addressing the internal divisions and restructuring Lebanon’s political authority on new foundations that guarantee equality and partnership for all Lebanese under the constitution and the law."
Finally, the statement stressed “the need to work diligently and seriously to return the displaced to their areas as soon as possible" before the displacement crisis "threatens security with the recurrence of issues of problems between the displaced themselves and the host communities."
The party added that the security forces must intensify their presence to prevent any attempts by external parties to exploit the displacement issue and employ it for "purposes and interests that serve no one.”
Caretaker Environment Minister and Chairman of the government's Emergency Committee Nasser Yassine estimated that "1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon to date," as a result of the war.