Lebanon’s prime minister told the BBC during its last war with Israel in 2006 that his country had been abandoned by the international community.
Fouad Siniora said it was unacceptable to let Lebanon fall and that there was a lack of initiative in trying to restore peace.
“We are now in a very difficult situation that requires real efforts locally, on the Arab side and internationally.
“You can push things to the breaking point in a major disaster, sometimes without really realizing what that means.
“This is happening at a time when the U.S. government is busy with elections.
“We cannot elect a president because some groups in the country, especially Hezbollah, have been insisting that they want a president who will not stab him in the back,” Siniora said.
The last war between Lebanon and Israel was nearly 20 years ago, when Hezbollah militants crossed the border and attacked Israeli soldiers. Two people were kidnapped and three were killed, sparking a month-long conflict.
In the days that followed, Siniora issued public statements to clarify with the Lebanese government what had happened.
He believes the country’s current leaders are failing their people by not doing the same.
“This administration did not do what my administration did that day. My administration said very clearly and firmly that we did not know and were not informed of Hezbollah’s plans to cross the Blue Line and kidnap and kill Israeli soldiers.
“This time the Lebanese government did not take any action. The advantage of what we did is that we put distance between the Lebanese government and Lebanon on the one hand, and Hezbollah on the other,” he explained.
Siniora is unwavering in his assessment of Lebanon’s loss of sovereignty.
“In fact, Lebanon as a country has been kidnapped by Hezbollah. Hezbollah is backed by Iran.
“This gun held by Hezbollah no longer pointed at Israel, but started pointing at the country, and started to be used as a means of Iranian intervention in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Lebanon cannot be involved in such a thing. A war.”
Siniora was also one of the authors of United Nations Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war.
One of its conditions is that a large swath of southern Lebanon – south of the landmark Litani River – should serve as a buffer zone between the two sides, free of any Hezbollah fighters or weapons.
This did not happen despite the deployment of UN peacekeepers UNIFIL and the presence of Lebanese troops. Hezbollah and its military infrastructure remain entrenched in the region.
This vacuum at the top of Lebanon’s political system makes Hezbollah’s influence in the country particularly difficult to control.
Since the last elections in 2022, Lebanon has not had a functioning government and is run by a caretaker government.
When President Michel Aoun’s term ended nearly two years ago, lawmakers failed to agree on his successor, so the position remained vacant. Many Lebanese believe there is a leadership shortage.
Siniola also made it clear that the conflict in Lebanon should not be inextricably linked to the current year-long war in Gaza.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited the regional capital and called for a simultaneous ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza.
“Things have been dragging on since October 2023 and getting worse. There are many opportunities to separate the situation in Lebanon from Gaza. From an Arab and Arab perspective, there are It’s important for Gaza to make connections.
“But especially now, Lebanon cannot in principle be involved in such things.
“It is unwise to continue to link the situation in Lebanon to Gaza when the situation in Gaza has left 2.2 million Palestinians homeless and the entire Gaza has been destroyed.”
