Beirut, July 16: Lebanese President Michel Suleiman says his country will use ‘all legitimate and available means’ against the Israeli threats.
Speaking at the opening session of a Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit on Wednesday, Suleiman reiterated that Lebanon has the right to defend itself against Israeli the threats and to liberate its lands occupied by Israel.
Suleiman slammed Israel’s daily violations of Lebanese territorial sovereignty and ‘its aggressive espionage acts in breach of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701’.
Lebanon has arrested at least 60 people for spying and 100 others on suspicion of espionage since it launched a major crackdown on spy networks almost three months ago. Most of the detainees were reportedly equipped with high-tech espionage equipment.
Suleiman condemned Israel’s ‘rejection’ of the Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homeland and attempts for their naturalization.
“Lebanon presented this summit with specific demands for the full and unconditional implementation of Resolution 1701, for the rejection of any form of Palestinian naturalization and for the preservation of (Lebanon’s) right to defend itself and liberate its land by all legitimate and available means,” he said.
Suleiman said Lebanon remains under ‘repeated Israeli threats against its land, people, establishments and infrastructures’.
He issued an urgent call for a conference to address the Arab-Israeli conflict in light of Israel’s continued rejection of ‘peace requirements and of the Palestinian people’s right to establish their independent state.’
Such a conference will seek to ‘boost the chances for a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East’, he added.
Suleiman met his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Arab League head Amr Moussa and several other leaders on the sidelines of the summit.
—–Agencies