After an Israeli ship entered a disputed area in the Mediterranean sea off the coast of Lebanon to produce gas for the Israeli regime on Sunday, the Lebanese Defense Minister Maurice Selim said on Monday that Israel's actions in the disputed area in southern Lebanon are a challenge and a provocation against his country and comes in blatant violation of the stability that has been established in the southern region, Lebanese Al-Mayadeen reported.
Moreover, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a statement on Sunday that Israel was creating a new crisis by encroaching on Lebanese resources in disputed waters.
“The Israeli enemy’s attempts to create a new crisis, by encroaching on Lebanon’s maritime wealth, and imposing a fait accompli in a disputed area in which Lebanon adheres to its rights, is extremely dangerous,” Mikati said in a statement, according to Reuters.
The Lebanese President Michel Aoun also reacted to the illegal move by the Israeli regime and said any activity in the disputed area would amount to an act of aggression and a provocation.
According to Aljazeera, also in a statement on Sunday, the Lebanese presidency said Aoun discussed with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati the vessel’s entry “into the disputed maritime area with Israel, and asked the Army Command to provide him with accurate and official data to build upon the matter”.
Aoun said negotiations to delineate the southern maritime border continued and “any action or activity in the disputed area represents a provocation and an aggressive action”.
According to Russia Today Arabic-language, the caretaker Lebanese prime minister also called on the international community, the United Nations and the United States to force the Israeli regime to stop its provocative actions.
KI/Alam6209738; PR