Mikati reiterates call against 'foreign interference' in Lebanon's internal affairs

BEIRUT — During his speech at the Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the countries of the region and the world to respect Lebanon's specificity and to refrain from interfering in its internal affairs by supporting a specific group, adding that they should rather support Lebanon as a state and entity.

"Lebanon is going through an unprecedented historic and fateful crisis that threatens its present and future, as it suffers from a blatant Israeli aggression that violates the most basic rules of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, which are designed to protect civilians in armed conflicts," Mikati said.

More than 3,150 people in Lebanon have been killed in more than a year of war between Hezbollah and Israel.

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Mikati said that Israel cannot and will not "continue its persistent aggression against Lebanon and its people and violate its sovereignty."

More than 1.2 million people have been displaced due to the ongoing war which escalated on Sept. 23 when Israel launched intensive airstrikes across the country.

Mikati said this displacement added new burden on Lebanon's domestic situation, which is "already burdened by successive crises."

"No country can bear the burden of this massive destruction alone, let alone Lebanon, which has been facing a worsening and unprecedented economic and financial crisis for five years," the prime minister said.

Moreover, Mikati thanked "all countries that have supported Lebanon and continue to support it" and invited them to "continue sending urgent humanitarian, food and health assistance."

He also called on the countries of the region and the world to respect Lebanon's specificity and to refrain from interfering in its internal affairs by supporting a specific group, adding that they should rather support Lebanon as a state and entity, in a nod to Iranian support to Hezbollah. 

He added that Lebanon has prepared a precise and transparent support program for the hospitality of displaced persons and to prepare, once a cease-fire is in place, for the return of people to their villages.

Mikati also said that Lebanon is in the process of establishing a financing fund that feeds on the contributions of brotherly and friendly countries under the supervision of a U.N. administration that would be used for the reconstruction of the country.

In addition, Mikati affirmed the "Lebanese government's firm and unwavering commitment to U.N. Resolution 1701, to strengthening the deployment of the Lebanese Army in the south in close cooperation with the international peacekeeping forces and to extending the authority of the Lebanese state over all internationally recognized borders."

Finally, he called for a cease-fire in Gaza and work to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting peace based on the two-state solution.

"Here, I highly value the proposal previously made by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which stipulates granting the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state as an effective way to achieve the desired stability in the region," he finally said.