Lebanese Experts: Resolution 1701 Cornerstone Of Peace, Stability

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Report by: Ayoub Khadaj
BEIRUT, Nov 9 (KUNA) -- With the expansion of the Israeli Occupation war in Lebanon, talks of UN Security Council resolution 1701 has returned to the forefront, in light of regional and international fears of the outbreak of a large-scale conflict in the region.
The UN says the resolution has been a cornerstone of peace and stability for nearly two decades, with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) tasked with implementing the resolution on the ground.
International law expert Dr. Antoine Sfeir affirmed to KUNA, Resolution 1701 still constitutes a framework that can be relied upon to establish a solution to the ongoing war.
Sfeir warned against running out of time, considering that with the development and expansion of military operations, the chances and possibility of implementing Resolution 1701 are diminishing.
In turn, legal expert Dr. Salam Abdulsamad said in an interview with KUNA that the decision is the most acceptable now and required to be implemented as is because any attempt to amend it means entering the unknown.
He pointed out that other proposals that allow the Israeli occupation to monitor the implementation of the resolution and allow it to intervene in Lebanese territory for that purpose contradict the content of the resolution in its current form, stressing that the Lebanese army is the legitimate military authority on Lebanese territory and is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the resolution.
Professor of Geopolitical Sciences, retired Brigadier General Khalil Helou, stressed that Lebanon has no choice but to adopt Resolution 1701, which was put in place at the time through Lebanese efforts during the war that was raging with the Israeli occupation in 2006.
He noted that the decision goes beyond a ceasefire, as it talks about deploying the Lebanese army in the south and emptying the region of weapons, considering that its implementation today is practically a severing of Lebanon's ties to the fighting taking place in the Gaza Strip.
Political writer Bishara Khairallah said that international resolution No. 1701 has become a central point for the solution and stopping the war between Lebanon and the Israeli occupation.
Experts agree that war and its developments, no matter how severe, do not lack opportunities for negotiation and the search for political settlements, especially if war is an extension of politics by other means, according to the German military thinker Carl von Clausewitz.
They believe that the solution must start from a point that establishes the agreement and ends the fighting, which is available today with the existence of an international legal text issued by the highest international authority, which is Resolution 1701.
On August 11, 2006, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 1701 with the aim of stopping hostilities in southern Lebanon and called for a permanent ceasefire based on the establishment of a buffer zone.
Under the resolution, the Council decided to take steps to ensure peace, including allowing the (UNIFIL) to be increased to a maximum of 15,000 personnel to monitor the cessation of hostilities, support the Lebanese Armed Forces during the Israeli occupation's withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and ensure the safe return of the displaced. (end)
ayb

MENAFN09112024000071011013ID1108867901