As reported by the Economist, “on Tuesday envoys from Israel and Lebanon will meet in Rome for their seventh round of talks this year. In June they agreed to a ceasefire and to a deal that commits the Lebanese army to disarm Hizbullah, an Iran-backed Shia militia. In return, Israel would withdraw from land it occupies in south Lebanon. Last month Israel and Lebanon started applying the agreement in two “pilot zones”. But it may be some time before the agreement is fully implemented. Hizbullah refuses to hand over its weapons, and the Lebanese army is reluctant to confront it” (https://tinyurl.com/5uewyzpx). If you wish to watch it, below you can find a brief Euronews YouTube documentary on the new round of US-sponsored direct talks in Rome between the two neighbouring countries.
From across the miles, very far away from both the Middle East and Italy, Bambi dares to see a light of hope for a possible, even if challenging, solution to her birth country’s heart-breaking problem: Hezbollah’s continuous defiance, rejecting disarmament despite the latest local and regional fiasco, and the Israeli re-occupation of Lebanon.
Also from far away, while reading L’Orient Le jour (https://tinyurl.com/zz3nkrap), she “hears” two Lebanese men expressing themselves: Mr. Naim Quassem, Hezbollah’s current head, and Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaf Salam. The first accused the Lebanese state of “serving Israel rather than Lebanon’s sovereignty” . As for the second, he courageously replied that “Hezbollah is in no position to hand out certificates of patriotism, let alone sovereignty“. In return, he accused it of “serving Israel“.
Thus, between the weapons of the Hezbollah (or any other illegal weapons) and direct diplomatic talks with Israel, Bambi prefers to see Lebanon engaged in the latter, even if she had wished that those talks didn’t happen following a devastating war. May the Lebanese state keep directly talking with all nations like a grown up, especially neighbouring ones, even if they are sadly occupying it. May peace know how to prevail in the beautiful land of the Cedars and shine, across its borders, not only to its neighbourhood, but also to the entire world.
Thanks to Italy for hosting these talks because Bambi’s birth country deserves better than endless wars, which only serve the interests of foreign entities. The Lebanese people are suffering and the Israeli innocent citizens living on the other side of the border have also suffered. Why can’t they also live in safety?
To conclude this post, and to come back to the two statements mentioned above, Lebanon deserves sovereignty to help build safety, and hopefully prosperity, for all its citizens.
