Should a wider war erupt between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, Lebanon will stand with the Iranian proxy, according to Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib.
Speaking with Al-Arabiya on Sunday, Habib said he didn’t know who was responsible for the rocket attack on a Druze village in the Golan Heights on Saturday that killed 12 children and wounded more than 40 people. But he went on to say that even if the attack had been carried out by Hezbollah, Israel had no right to respond.
“The [children] who died ... who were killed in the Golan were Arab, not Israelis,” he said. “In addition, the Golan Heights is not Israeli. They [Israel] took it, but the United Nations does not recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli. It is Syrian. Therefore, [Israel] does not have any justification for self-defense. Nobody attacked it,” he added.
Hezbollah, he said, has denied responsibility for the attack. “Israel is claiming that Hezbollah did it. Maybe Israel did it by mistake. Maybe Hezbollah did it by mistake. Hezbollah does not attack civilians in Israel, so why would it attack civilians in Syria?” he said.
Hezbollah has been launching attacks on towns and cities in northern Israel on a near-daily basis since Oct. 8., causing the displacement of tens of thousands.
Asked whether it was possible Israel had “orchestrated” the tragedy “to justify an attack against Lebanon,” Habib said, “It is possible. I don’t know.’
On Sunday night, Israel’s Security Cabinet authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to retaliate against Hezbollah for Saturday’s deadly strike.
During a visit to Majdal Shams on Monday, Netanyahu said Israel’s response would be “tough.”
“With Iranian backing, Hezbollah attacked here with an Iranian missile, taking the lives of 12 pure souls. Twelve boys and girls who played soccer here and, sadly, could not make it to a shelter,” he said.
Habib told Al Arabiya on Sunday that, “If a war breaks out, we will undoubtedly be against Israel. If the war in Lebanon expands beyond its present scope, we will stand by Hezbollah ... Hezbollah will stand by us and we will stand by Hezbollah. We will stand together against Israel.”
Asked whether the Lebanese Armed Forces would join the fighting, Habib seemed to backtrack, saying, “We do not have significant military capabilities, but Lebanon will officially stand by ... Or rather, Hezbollah will stand by the Lebanese state, and we will defend Lebanon.”
Originally published by the Middle East Media Research Institute. JNS staff contributed to this report.
