Lebanese Prime Minister Michel Aoun warns that a number of mounting disputes with Israel, including contested rights to offshore natural gas exploration and the construction of a border wall by Israel, could lead to war.
“Lebanon has taken a decision to defend itself whether there is an Israeli attack on its land or on its oil rights,” Aoun says in an interview on the Egyptian news program ON Live.
“Until now,” he adds, “there hasn’t been an attack… There are forces intervening diplomatically and politically to help resolve this dispute.”
On Thursday Reuters reported that a senior American envoy, David Satterfield, the acting assistant US secretary of state, had relayed a message from Israel to the Lebanese that Jerusalem does not want an escalation.
Aoun, however, warns that should Israel carry out its verbal threats, it could lead to a new round of military conflict between the two sides.
“The Israeli verbal provocation does not matter to us, but if it comes into effect, there will be new wars,” he says.
— Dov Lieber
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 12, 2018
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
