The leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, in Maarab in 2022. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
BEIRUT — Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said in a statement on Friday that "nothing can justify the state's delay in carrying out its duties to avert the dangers that Lebanon and the Lebanese are facing", one day after several Israeli airstrikes targeted the Southern suburbs of Beirut.
"The Taif Agreement, international resolutions 1559, 1680 and 1701, the ceasefire agreement signed by the government in which Hezbollah had a ministerial majority on November 27, 2024, as well as the will of the vast majority of the Lebanese, all converge to demand that the Lebanese state dismantle illegal military organizations and collect all weapons under the sole authority of the state, in order to establish a real state in Lebanon", Geagea said.
Despite the November cease-fire, which followed more than 13 months of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, the Israeli army still occupies five areas in Southern Lebanon and conducts near-daily strikes in Southern Lebanon. On Thursday night, Israel conducted violent airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut after issuing evacuation orders.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stated recently that the Lebanese state was continuing its efforts to extend its authority over the entire territory and limit the holding of weapons, affirming that the army had dismantled more than 500 military positions south of the Litani River.
"Nothing can justify the state's delay in carrying out its duties to avert the dangers that Lebanon and the Lebanese are facing", he said, calling anyone who has any other practical solution other than endlessly mourning the darkness while doing nothing to change it, to come forward.
"It is not heroic to call the enemy an enemy and verbally attack it, because this is something that every Lebanese citizen does, but it is heroic for officials to take the necessary practical steps to avoid the evil of this enemy. It is not acceptable in any way for the Lebanese citizen to remain at risk of aggression every day, hour and moment. It has become clear that Lebanon needs the help of its Arab, European and American friends to stop the ongoing Israeli military operations against Lebanon and to remove Israel from the points it still occupies, but everyone knows that these friends of Lebanon are not ready to help a country that does not possess the monopoly of arms and the decision of war and peace", the statement reads.
On Friday, the Lebanese Army warned that it may halt its cooperation with the International Monitoring Committee overseeing the Israel-Lebanon cease-fire, specifically over inspections of sites targeted by Israeli threats.
According to the Army, Israel refused to allow it to inspect certain places identified by the Israeli army as hosting drone manufacturing sites in the southern suburbs of Beirut, which were bombed Thursday night.