Mustaqbal on Hizbullah Drone: Iran Continues to Undermine Lebanon Sovereignty

Al-Mustaqbal bloc rejected on Tuesday Hizbullah's acknowledgment of launching a drone into Israeli airspace, considering this incident a violation of the Lebanese state's sovereignty.

In a statement released after the bloc's weekly meeting, Mustaqbal MPs said the incident “is a clear defiance of the president's stances and is meant to serve Iranian interests only”.

“Iran, through its representative Hizbullah, is continuing to undermine and manipulate Lebanon's sovereignty,” the statement said.

"Hizbullah's stances and its unilateral actions against the enemy threaten any chance to discuss a national defense strategy,” it added.

On October 6, the Israeli air force jets shot down the unarmed drone over southern Israel's Negev desert after it entered the country's airspace from the Mediterranean Sea. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed at Hizbullah and vowed to defend his country against further "threats." Hizbullah's Chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged that the Iranian-made drone was launched by his party.

The bloc also disapproved the Foreign Minister's declaration about the drone not breaching Resolution 1701, explaining that this would give Israel an excuse to cross into Lebanese airspace on a daily basis.

FM Adnan Mansour responded to An Nahar newspaper's report published on Sunday, October 14, about his position towards this issue, denying to have given this statement.

Mustaqbal MPs discussed Hizbullah's alleged involvement in Syria's war, considering that the party “is accusing them of what they are doing there”.

“We warn against dragging Lebanon into the neighboring country's crisis,” the statement said.

Commenting Roumieh prison's “scandal”, the bloc considered the failure to reform the prison as a main cause of the riot happening there. The MPs blamed the “failed political authority that is busy seeking its own interests” for this incident, calling for severe measures and punishment to be taken against those responsible of guarding the prison.

Three Fatah al-Islam inmates – a Palestinian, a Syrian and an Algerian – managed to escape from Roumieh prison around a month ago, media reports said on Friday. Several security officers in charge of the block where the escapees were held have been interrogated, reported An Nahar newspaper.

Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon's overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks in recent years and escalating riots over the past months as inmates living in poor conditions demand better treatment.