‘International community’ must prevent spread of Middle East war says Lebanon minister

We spoke to Lebanon’s Environment minister, Nasser Yassin – he’s also the coordinator of Lebanon’s National Disaster and Crisis Response Committee.

We began by asking him for his reaction to the strikes by Israel.

Nasser Yassin: The Israeli occupied forces have been in an aggressive mode for decades in Lebanon, but we’ve seen new shapes recently. The last week, we’ve seen an unprecedented, unseen attack on people carrying pagers, beepers. Indiscriminate in many ways, violating international humanitarian law, violating the Geneva Convention.

Matt Frei: The government of Lebanon is hosting an organisation called Hezbollah, which is using its rockets to target civilians in northern Israel, 60,000 of whom have had to move out of their homes. And that’s why they’ve launched this attack this week in order to stop those attacks from continuing.

Nasser Yassin: Lebanon also has more than 115,000 displaced from the southern towns and villages on the borders. We actually want to respect 1701, the UN resolution that actually was issued in 2006 after an Israeli war at that time. And this is the position of the government to get back the Lebanese displaced into their villages and towns and to get the UN and the Lebanese army to patrol the borders.

Matt Frei: But you’re not in a position to stop Hezbollah, are you? They can do as ever they please. You really have no jurisdiction over them. They’re acting like a state within a state.

Nasser Yassin: Lebanon has, historically, resistance movements due to the Israeli occupation for decades. And it’s very clear when Israel stops breaking and violating the sovereignty of Lebanon, and all the UN and international resolutions and conventions, this will stop.

Matt Frei: But Nasser, Iran is using Hezbollah as its long arm to attack Israel from Lebanese territory. So what are you going to do? What can you do to stop Hezbollah from doing that?

Nasser Yassin: Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese parliament and they have a significant bloc in parliament. All these discussions and dialogue…

Matt Frei: But dependent on Iran.

Nasser Yassin: They have their connections, as many groups in Lebanon have their connections.

Matt Frei: Would you call on Hezbollah to exercise restraint at the moment, however humiliated they might have been by these pager and walkie talkie attacks?

Nasser Yassin: The Lebanese government has been in dialogue directly or indirectly with Hezbollah. Lebanon has always been saying officially and through different channels that all that we seek is actually to stop this war.

Matt Frei: You’re in a very tough position. You have been for a very long time. You’ve got a financial crisis. You’ve got more than, I think, a million and a half Syrian refugees still living in your small country. You don’t have a president of the moment, there’s a political vacuum. Are you becoming a failed state?

Nasser Yassin: We continue to take the responsibility to get along, to protect people. But definitely, definitely, we’re under a lot of strain. What we see is a sophisticated, aggressive war machine that’s actually been ongoing for months without any restriction, without any discrimination. It’s indiscriminate.

Matt Frei: The United States and the UK have both been calling for restraint ever since 7 October. Clearly, the Israelis haven’t been listening. Hamas hasn’t been listening. Hezbollah is not listening. Is there anyone outside your immediate region who has the power to stop this from getting worse and becoming a wider war?

Nasser Yassin: This is a regional war. It’s a new generation of war, as we’ve been saying. And this necessitates the presence and the push from the international community and international actors beyond just the talk, there needs to be some work from the international actors and international players, for that matter.