Cameron in Lebanon, Urges Calm Along Border with Israel

Sudan Events – Sumaya Sayed 

British foreign minister David Cameron appealed for a return to calm on the Lebanon-Israel border Thursday in Beirut talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Mikati’s office said.

Cameron and Mikati discussed “ways to restore calm in southern Lebanon, as well as the political and diplomatic solutions that are needed,” the premier’s office said.

Cameron is the latest in a succession of Western ministers to visit Beirut amid concern that the Gaza war could spark a wider conflict involving Iranian allies around the Middle East.

A major focus of their efforts has been to reinforce the United Nations Security Council resolution that ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Resolution 1701 called for all armed personnel to pull back north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, except for Lebanese state security forces and UN peacekeepers.

While Hezbollah has not had a visible military presence in the border area since 2006, the group still holds sway over large parts of the south.

Hezbollah had previously signaled willingness to endorse a diplomatic solution, but only after Israel ends its war on Gaza.

Cameron later met the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally.

Senior Hezbollah official Nabil Kaouk said on Wednesday that the group had “intensified” its operations “in response to Israel’s escalation,” Lebanon’s state-run.

His comments came after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that troops would “very soon go into action” near the Lebanese border.

Nearly four months of cross-border fire have killed over 210 people in Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including more than 25 civilians.

On the Israeli side of the border, nine soldiers and six civilians have been killed, Israeli officials have said.