On Saturday 6 January, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, urged for diplomatic efforts in the Middle East to avoid regional escalation.
“It is imperative to avoid a regional escalation in the Middle East, it is absolutely necessary to avoid Lebanon being dragged into a regional conflict. This is the last thing Lebanon needs”, he stressed at a press conference in Beirut with the Lebanese Foreign Minister, Abdallah Bou Habib.
Mr Borrell recalled the worrying increase in exchanges of fire across the Blue Line, on the border between Lebanon and Israel, causing the displacement of more than 70,000 civilians in Lebanon and 200,000 in northern Israel.
According to the High Representative, “no one stands (to win) from a regional conflict”, including Israel. He added that war was the worst option and that it was necessary to continue working towards a diplomatic solution.
Mr Borrell called for action by the international community to bring about a paradigm shift in the Middle East. “We have to move towards an end of the suffering of civilians in Gaza and to the release of the hostages. We need to see the United Nations Security Council resolutions - 2712 and 2720 - (of 2023) implemented, also here in Lebanon, the (resolution) 1701 (of 2006)”, he added.
These resolutions concern humanitarian pauses and corridors in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Giving the Palestinians a horizon of hope. According to Mr Borrell, the only solution to “eradicate” Hamas is not “so many innocent people being killed”, but the creation of a Palestinian state offering the Palestinians a horizon of hope. “The moment has come to engage and to move from ‘saying’ to ‘doing’, and to put our efforts and capacities (into action), and we have a lot of capacities”, he added, reminding that the EU was the Palestinian Authority’s most fervent supporter - and largest donor.
In addition to resolving the crisis in the Middle East, the Lebanese minister called for relations between the EU and his country to be strengthened, pointing out that their security and prosperity go hand in hand. In his view, one of the priorities must be Lebanon’s return to the international stage. Mr Bou Habib reiterated that the Lebanese were committed to peace and promised that the Lebanese government was seeking appeasement.
“Only a political solution can put an end to a decades-long cycle of violence”, he said.
For Mr Borrell, “a more stable Lebanon will be more able to defend its interests and safeguard its independence and contribute to regional stability”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)