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By Lisa Zengarini

As tensions along the Lebanon-Israeli border continue to dangerously increase with fears of the war in Gaza spilling over to Lebanon, the Maronite bishops have reiterated their urgent call for the international community to ensure the effective disarmament of all non-state armed forces in Lebanon as called for by the UN Resolution 1701,  and for a  permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas  as a start-point for negotiations for a "two-state solution" in the Holy Land.

Risk of a new full-fledged war between Hezbollah and Israel

In a statement released earlier this week after their monthly meeting at the Patriarchate of Bkerké under the presidency of the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Béchara Boutros al-Rahi, the bishops sounded the alarm over the risk a new full-fledged war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, 2023,  Israeli forces and the Lebanese Shiite movement supported and armed by Iran and radical Palestinian groups, have engaged in daily clashes forcing thousands of people, including many Christians, to flee from southern Lebanon.

Tensions have peaked this week after an Israeli drone strike killed deputy chief of Hamas’s political bureau Saleh el-Arouri,  in Beirut on 2 January.  

Escalation has already caused several casualties and injuries

In their statement the Maronite bishops noted thatthe escalation has already caused "casualties and injuries among residents of the region as well as massive destruction in several locations in southern Lebanon and that with el-Arouri’s killing fighting has now reached the Lebanese capital.

In the face of the catastrophic consequences a new full-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel would have on Lebanon which is already reeling from years of financial crisis,  economic hardship and political instability, the bishops listed nine requests.

Political deadlock for the election of new Lebanese president

Firstly, they urged Lebanese members of Parliament to "fulfill their constitutional obligation" to elect a new president "in order to save the country from complete ruin and instability." Lebanon has been looking for a successor to President Michel Aoun since his term expired on October 31 2022 and rival factions in Parliament haven’t managed to reach an agreement  further deepening the Lebanese crisis and power vacuum.

Call for pemanent cesefire bettween Hamas and Israel

Regarding the war in the Holy Land, the Maronite bishops  decried “the killings, destruction and violence" perpetrated by the Israeli army and the Israeli settlers, particularly against the civilian population in Gaza and the West Bank, and called for a permanent ceasefire as a starting point for negotiations for a two-state solution.

Implementation of 2006 UN resoultion 1701 

In view of the escalation of the conflict in the region the statement urged the "friends of Lebanon in the world" to "contribute effectively to the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006), as the only way forward to put an end to Israel's attacks  and to define “a clear and effective framework for peace in southern Lebanon".

The UN resolution brought to an end the Second Lebanon War in 2006, calling for the disarmament of all non-state armed forces in the country, and the demilitarization of the entire area between the Israel-Lebanon border and the Litani River. These clauses, however, were never implemented, and Hezbollah has become a heavily armed militia.

Syrian refugee crisis

In another important passage of their statement, the Maronite bishops again drew attention to Syrian refugee crisis. Lebanon hosts some 1.5 million Syrian refugees making it the the country with the highest number of refugees per capita – with one refugee for every four nationals. This massive influx has placed a further  strain on its already weak infrastructure and public services, as well as on its security.

The statement therefore urged local and international authorities to take “serious steps and adopt the necessary diplomatic and political measures to free Lebanon from this burden that weighs on its demography, its economy and stability. "