Hariri Urges Restraint, Jarrah Says Defense Strategy Can't be Discussed amid Israel Aggression

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday called for a “high level of wisdom, calm, thoughtfulness and restraint” in dealing with the latest Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Speaking after a cabinet session, which was originally dedicated to the new waste plan, Information Minister Jamal al-Jarrah said Hariri opened the meeting by “condemning the Israeli attacks on Lebanon and considering them a blatant violation of Resolution 1701 and a threat to stability in Lebanon.”

“This aggression is rejected and deplored and there are intensive contacts aimed at stopping these attacks and deterring the Israeli enemy from continuing its aggression against Lebanon,” Hariri added.

“There are major tensions in the region in addition to the economic crisis in Lebanon, and this requires us to show a high level of wisdom, calm, thoughtfulness and restraint, which are essential for overcoming the crisis and halting the Israeli attacks on Lebanon,” the premier went on to say.

Asked about Minister Richard Kouyoumjian’s demand during the session that the country’s decisions of war and peace be placed exclusively in the hands of the state and the government, Jarrah said “this is a permanent demand for the Lebanese Forces and most political forces.”

“It will remain pending until the approval of a defense strategy, on which President Michel Aoun and the Lebanese government are working,” the minister added, noting that the strategy cannot be discussed amid Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

“We must wait for the atmosphere to calm down and for the dissipation of the Israeli aggression threat against Lebanon so that we discuss it calmly,” Jarrah went on to say.

One drone came down and another exploded early Sunday in a Hizbullah stronghold in the southern Beirut suburb of Mouawad, damaging a Hizbullah media center and lightly injuring three people who were in the building.

On Monday, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command reported an overnight Israeli drone attack on its base in the Lebanese eastern border region of Qusaya.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had on Sunday vowed to "do everything" to thwart Israeli drone attacks in Lebanon, threatening to down any unmanned aircraft that violates Lebanon’s airspace. He also pledged to retaliate from Lebanon against an Israeli airstrike that killed two Hizbullah members in Syria.