Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam confirmed today, Friday, that the army’s presence in the south “is not just a military deployment, but rather a presence of the state.”
The National News Agency quoted Salam as saying, upon his arrival by helicopter to the city of Tire and heading to the Benoit Barakat barracks, where he was received by the Minister of National Defense, Major General Michel Mansi: “We will remain committed to our solidarity government, as required by the country’s constitution.” Our government continues to work by mobilizing all possible Arab and international support to develop the army’s human capabilities, modernize its equipment, and improve the living and social conditions of its people.”
Salam addressed the soldiers by saying: “I realize the magnitude of the challenges you face, and I also realize the magnitude of the burdens you bear at a time when Israeli attacks continue, but I also know that restoring sovereignty can only be achieved by building a capable state, and the state cannot be capable without one strong army,” according to the German News Agency.
He added: “We want this south, as well as all of Lebanon, to be under the authority of a single state, and for the Lebanese citizen to be safe because he has an army to protect him, and for the country to enjoy stability as the state and its constitutional institutions restore the decision of war and peace.”
The Prime Minister stressed that “every site where the army is deployed is a site where the state regains its sovereignty, authority and prestige. For our government, working to strengthen the army is not a secondary item in its program, nor is it a technical issue. Rather, it is a strategic choice at the core of our project to restore the state.
He stressed that the government continues to work by mobilizing all possible Arab and international support, calling for “preserving the unity of the army institution and not allowing the whims of politics to divide you.”
Salam called for not allowing the evils of sectarianism to infiltrate the ranks of the military and “accept only the constitution and the law as your reference,” stressing that “the strength of the Lebanese army is not based only on its weapons, equipment, and numbers, but it also lies in its unity, as the army is one of the few institutions in which the Lebanese meet not as members of sects and regions, but as members of one nation.”
In turn, Defense Minister Michel Mansi said in Tyre: “We affirm our firm position to restore state sovereignty and every inch of our territory, and this is the goal of the negotiations that Lebanon entered into, which are the best solution to get out of this tunnel.”
He stressed that “the army was never anything but unified, and it never received a mission without accomplishing it with great precision... Our minds will not rest until the south returns to Lebanon and you return to your land with your heads held high.”
A Palestinian official reported that, today, Friday, and for the thirteenth day in a row, settlers continue to besiege a number of homes in the town of Qasra, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, under the protection of the Israeli army, in an attempt to seize them and impose a fait accompli in the region, according to the German News Agency.
The Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) quoted the head of the Qasra Council, Abdel Azim Wadi, as saying, “The occupation forces and a number of colonists continue to impose a siege on three houses in the Ras al-Ain area of the town, preventing families from leaving or entering them, and turning one of them into a military barracks and taking control of it, while declaring the area a closed military zone.”
He pointed out that “families are suffering from a shortage of food and some medicines, because the occupation prevented them from reaching homes and providing them with what they need.”
The agency indicated that “the occupation forces destroyed, yesterday evening, Thursday, the possessions and furniture of a citizen’s house and turned it into a military barracks,” noting that the owner of the house is in another besieged house, after the occupation soldiers forced him and his family to forcefully evacuate their house, under the pretext that the area is “closed military.”
Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir released a video showing himself bragging about the construction of a site where Palestinians convicted of terrorism crimes will be executed by hanging - not including Jewish extremists accused of similar crimes.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, Ben Gvir - who has previously faced international sanctions and condemnations for his activities - said that the site will be equipped with viewing booths that will allow the families of the victims to follow the executions.
Ben Gvir posted the video on social media of a visit he made to the site (whose location was not revealed), while pictures published by Israeli media showed the presence of a bulldozer and construction work, said to be located near a prison, and the extremist minister appeared pointing to the foundation work, boasting that this is the place “where terrorists will be executed,” as he described it.
The newspaper pointed out that Ben Gvir celebrated his fiftieth birthday earlier this year with a candy bar designed in the shape of a noose.
Ben Gvir said in the video: “I promised to tighten the detention conditions for terrorists in prisons, and we fulfilled our promise. I promised to pass the death penalty law for terrorists, and we did that. Now, the features of the death row section and the hanging facility are also beginning to take shape.”
The Guardian said that reports about the construction of gallows - which will be used to execute Palestinians convicted of “terrorism” crimes in military courts only, and not Jewish extremists - come in the wake of the passage of a new law earlier this year.
The law requires military courts to impose the death penalty as the only available punishment, unless the court finds special circumstances that justify a life sentence. In practice, Jewish Israelis are protected from the death penalty under a clause that limits the application of the law to murders committed “with the intention of denying the existence of the State of Israel.”
She pointed out that Ben Gvir - who was previously convicted on charges of incitement to racism, obstructing a policeman while performing his duty, and supporting the banned Kach terrorist movement - has been serving as Israeli Minister of National Security since 2022, except for a two-month break last year.
Ben Gvir is one of the main drivers of Israel's new death penalty law, and has a long history of extremist statements and provocative actions.
The death penalty law - one of two laws approved by Israeli lawmakers this year - has sparked widespread international condemnation since it was approved in the Knesset by a vote of 62 votes to 48, due to criticism indicating that it involves “discrimination.”
Commenting on the passage of the law, Erika Guevara Rosas, from Amnesty International, said: “It also undermines basic guarantees to prevent arbitrary deprivation of life and protect the right to a fair trial. It also reinforces the apartheid system in Israel, which is supported by dozens of discriminatory laws against Palestinians.”
In recent months, sanctions have been imposed on Ben Gvir by France and Ireland, in addition to the sanctions imposed on him by the United Kingdom last year. He also faced widespread criticism just a few days ago for calling for the implementation of a policy of punitive killing in Gaza, at a rate of between 30 and 40 people per night.
“I think we should carry out between 30 and 40 executions every night,” Ben Gvir said. There are people who do not deserve to live... They are not even human.
On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described Ben Gvir's statements as "unacceptable and inhumane," while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed his strong condemnation of "the inhumane calls made by Minister Ben Gvir, which violate international law."
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, also described Ben Gvir’s statements as “horrific,” “outrageous,” “dehumanizing,” and “dangerous.”
The emergence of this video came amid growing international condemnation of Israel’s behavior, including the issuance of new tenders for the massive “E1” settlement complex outside Jerusalem. This is a step condemned by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, describing it as an “unacceptable and destructive act” that threatens to separate the West Bank from East Jerusalem. He also summoned the Israeli Chargé d’Affairs to protest against this.
Miliband said: “The United Kingdom has been clear - both in private conversations and in public - about its opposition to the E1 project and its support for the two-state solution as the only way to ensure long-term security and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis. “All settlements undermine this possibility and are a flagrant violation of international law.”
