Beirut, February 19: Arab League chief Amr Mussa said on Thursday that Arab countries would stand by Lebanon if it were attacked by Israel, adding that the situation between the two countries is tense.
“If a new attack or aggression is in the process of being prepared, they (Israel) will not get away with it easily,” Mussa said after meeting with Foreign Minister Ali Shami. “We learned the lessons of 2006, and the Arab position is to stand by Lebanon.”
Mussa did not elaborate on what he meant by the lessons of 2006 on what he meant by the assurance of support.
Israel launched a devastating air, ground and naval assault on Lebanon in July 2006 after guerrillas from the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.
The war killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers.
It also devastated much of the infrastructure in southern Lebanon, just across the border and a Hezbollah stronghold.
Mussa, who was wrapping up a two-day visit to Beirut, was speaking amid growing fears in Lebanon that Israel might again attack the country. While there have been harsh words thrown in both directions, senior Israeli officials have been at pains to insist that they do not want a conflict.
“There are not just threats, but thousands of violations of the border zone and of south Lebanon, which demonstrate that the situation is complex and tense,” Mussa said.
He did not elaborate, but Israel warplanes frequently enter Lebanese airspace, despite Lebanese and United Nations protests.
—Agencies