Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Sunday that certain Christian villages in southern Lebanon have asked to be annexed by Israel, saying they seek protection from Hezbollah.
Many Christian villages in southern Lebanon live under the threat of Hezbollah © CNI
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Sunday that certain Christian villages in southern Lebanon have asked to be annexed by Israel, saying they seek protection from Hezbollah.
"Among the Christian villages in Lebanon, some have even asked to be annexed to Israel, because we protect them against the Hezbollah fanatics who want to kill them. And we do the same with Christians everywhere," Netanyahu told Fox News' "The Sunday Briefing."
The statement comes as Israel continues to occupy a buffer zone of over 600 square kilometres in southern Lebanon along the border, within which several Christian villages remain inhabited.
Netanyahu's claim is certain to generate controversy in Lebanon, where any suggestion of annexation - however informal - touches one of the most sensitive nerves in the country's political landscape.
Lebanese Christian leaders, including Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï and Kataeb chief Samy Gemayel, have consistently and firmly rejected any Israeli presence on Lebanese soil, calling instead for a full Israeli withdrawal as part of the framework agreement signed in Washington on June 26.
The Lebanese state's position is unambiguous: sovereignty over every square metre of Lebanese territory is non-negotiable.
Whether individual villagers in the occupied zone have expressed such sentiments to Israeli forces, out of fear, pragmatism or genuine preference, is impossible to independently verify.
Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï welcomed Sunday the framework agreement signed in Washington between Lebanon and Israel, while delivering a pointed warning that Lebanon must never become a bargaining chip in regional or international negotiations.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used a joint appearance with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Istanbul on Saturday to deliver his latest broadside against Israel, warning that the "war-addicted Israeli government must not be allowed to drown our geography in the smell of gunpowder and blood again" and accusing Jerusalem of trying to "dynamite" the US-Iran peace deal.
There is a bitter irony in the choice of Saint-Denis as the city to award honorary citizenship to Marwan Barghouti.
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