France: Nothing Can Justify Long-term Israeli Occupation in Lebanon

SadaNews - French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrault emphasized today, Tuesday, that "nothing can justify" the continuation of military operations and long-term Israeli occupation in Lebanon, as clashes continued overnight between Israel and Hezbollah despite Washington's announcement of a ceasefire.

The French Foreign Minister noted in a television interview on France TV, "It is completely out of the question to sacrifice Lebanon as a sort of atonement for the failure to reach an agreement between Iran and the United States," indicating that he spoke on Monday evening with his American counterpart Marco Rubio.

The Israeli army is conducting its deepest military incursion into Lebanon since 2000, when it withdrew after 18 years of occupation.

Barrault stated, "What we want is for the scheduled talks this week between the Israeli and Lebanese governments to take place under the best possible conditions."

Lebanon and Israel are holding a new round of talks on Tuesday and Wednesday, which is opposed by Hezbollah; this is the fourth round since the outbreak of the war at the beginning of last March.

Despite Washington's announcement of a ceasefire in Lebanon in April, Israel continued to carry out strikes and demolish homes and buildings in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah repeatedly announces drone attacks and rocket fire targeting Israeli forces in southern Lebanon or northern Israel.

Reaching an agreement in Lebanon is of great importance to U.S. President Donald Trump, as Iran has conditioned a ceasefire in Lebanon on any agreement to end the war in the Middle East.