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EU’s Borrell Urges Lebanon and Israel to Ease Tensions Along Their Border

European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell (L) and Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib (R) give a joint press conference, at the ministry's headquarters in Beirut on September 12, 2024. (AFP)
European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell (L) and Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib (R) give a joint press conference, at the ministry's headquarters in Beirut on September 12, 2024. (AFP)
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EU’s Borrell Urges Lebanon and Israel to Ease Tensions Along Their Border

European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell (L) and Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib (R) give a joint press conference, at the ministry's headquarters in Beirut on September 12, 2024. (AFP)
European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell (L) and Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib (R) give a joint press conference, at the ministry's headquarters in Beirut on September 12, 2024. (AFP)

The European Union’s top diplomat on Thursday urged Lebanon and Israel to work on deescalating tensions along the border, saying that since his last trip to the region in January “the drums of war have not stopped pounding.”

The comments of Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, came as members of the Hezbollah group and Israel’s military carried out cross border attacks along the tense frontier on Thursday.

Western and Arab officials have visited Beirut over the past year to try to reduce tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border, but Hezbollah officials have said they will only stop carrying out attacks along the border when Israel stops its offensive in the Gaza Strip.

“Since I lasted visited Lebanon in January the drums of war have not stopped pounding,” Borrell told reporters in Beirut during a joint press conference with Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. “Since then, the fears I was outlining have been growing, more escalation, fears of a spillover of the war in Gaza and fears of more widespread human suffering.”

In late August, Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah pulled back after an exchange of heavy fire that briefly raised fears of an all-out war.

Borrell said that according to the United Nations more than 4,000 residential buildings have been completely destroyed in Lebanon and more than 110,000 Lebanese have been forced to leave their homes along the border. He said the same thing is happening on the Israeli side of the border.

The European official said that his message is that the European Union “stands on the side of the Lebanese people to help to overcome the threats and challenges as much as we can.”

This handout picture provided by the Lebanese Parliament Press Office shows European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell (C) and his delegation meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R), in Beirut on September 12, 2024. (Lebanese Parliament / AFP)

Mikati and Berri

Borrell also met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri during his visit.

Mikati expressed his appreciation for Borrell’s stances in support of Lebanon, calling for intensifying international and UN pressure on Israel to halt its attacks against Lebanon.

He also urged intensified cooperation between Lebanon and the EU to tackle the Syrian refugee file and its “current and future” dangers on the country, said a government statement.

Talks with Berri focused on local and regional developments.

The speaker hailed the EU official’s positions in support of Lebanon against Israel, adding that “Lebanon doesn’t want war, but it has the right to and is capable of defending itself.”

More than 500 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes since Oct. 8, most of them fighters with Iran-backed Hezbollah and other armed groups but also more than 100 civilians. In northern Israel, 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed by strikes from Lebanon.

“We need to deescalate military tensions and I use this opportunity to urge all sides to pursue this path,” said Borrell, who on Tuesday visited UN peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel.

He added that the “full and asymmetrical implementation” of UN Security Council resolution 1701 that ended the summer 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war should pave the way for a comprehensive settlement including land border demarcation and allowing the return of people and reconstruction in the affected border areas.

“The European Union is doing a lot, but we don’t have a magic wand,” he said.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) talks to European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (L) during their meeting at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 12 September 2024. (EPA)

On Lebanese affairs, he urged officials to elect a president of the republic to end the nearly two-year vacancy in the country’s top post.

“There is no way for you to defend the Lebanese interests abroad - in the broader world - without being, in the first place, stable and united at home,” he said.

“You have to fix your economy, you have to reform your banking sector - this is crucial,” he added.

“The European Union is ready to continue supporting Lebanon, and Lebanon’s leaders to face the challenges of stability for the sake of the resilient Lebanese people - who, like many others in the region, have been kept away from peace and prosperity,” he remarked.

“But we can only assist, we can only [help] overcome the internal obstacles, if the Lebanese help themselves. Working for the interest of the Lebanese people, and no one else, is the way to go,” he stressed.

Borrell was set to travel to Israel but cancelled the trip after its Foreign Minister Israel Katz denied him entry over his statements that the EU should slap sanctions on extremist Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich over their hate messages against Palestinians.

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Lebanese Parties Warn Against Hezbollah Keeping Light Weapons

Lebanese Shiite mourners gathered on Monday in Beirut’s southern suburbs to mark Ashura in a ceremony organized by Hezbollah (AFP)
Lebanese Shiite mourners gathered on Monday in Beirut’s southern suburbs to mark Ashura in a ceremony organized by Hezbollah (AFP)
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Lebanese Parties Warn Against Hezbollah Keeping Light Weapons

Lebanese Shiite mourners gathered on Monday in Beirut’s southern suburbs to mark Ashura in a ceremony organized by Hezbollah (AFP)
Lebanese Shiite mourners gathered on Monday in Beirut’s southern suburbs to mark Ashura in a ceremony organized by Hezbollah (AFP)

A recent proposal circulating in Lebanon that would allow Hezbollah to retain its light weapons while surrendering heavy and medium arms has triggered widespread political backlash, with critics warning it poses a grave threat to state sovereignty and public safety.

The suggestion, floated amid long-running debate over the group’s arsenal, argues that other political parties and armed groups also possess light weapons for various reasons. But key political factions have rejected the idea outright, citing Lebanon’s bloody past and the potential for renewed violence.

Opponents of the proposal have pointed to the events of May 7, 2008, when Hezbollah fighters overran parts of Beirut and Mount Lebanon in a show of military force, underscoring the dangers of allowing any non-state group to keep arms.

“Classifying weapons as heavy, medium or light is useless,” said Kataeb Party leader Sami Gemayel in a post on X. “If heavy arms threaten Lebanon’s regional security, light weapons are even more dangerous to the foundations of the state.”

Gemayel reiterated that only the Lebanese army and legitimate security forces should bear arms, calling for the country to be entirely free of weapons held by non-state actors.

MP Ghada Ayoub, of the Lebanese Forces-led "Strong Republic" bloc, echoed that view, insisting the state must assert full sovereignty over all Lebanese territory and outlaw any form of armed presence outside the official security apparatus.

“There is only one armed group operating outside the state, and that is Hezbollah,” Ayoub told Asharq al-Awsat. “It must become a purely political party and clearly, unequivocally declare an end to its military activity.”

Ayoub also criticized recent remarks by Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, who vowed the group’s “resistance” would continue “without asking anyone’s permission.”

“The Lebanese state is responsible for enforcing a monopoly on the use of arms,” she said. “It must stop playing the role of a mediator or hiding behind the fear of war and internal strife. Time is not on Lebanon’s side.”

Ahmad Al-Kheir, a lawmaker with the “National Moderation” bloc, dismissed the proposal as “stillborn,” warning that light weapons have already been used to intimidate citizens and skew political dynamics.

“We saw yesterday how light arms were paraded through Beirut’s streets in a blatant attempt at provocation and coercion,” he said. “This is the real danger - using these weapons as leverage in political life, as we saw in the May 7 events and the occupation of downtown Beirut.”

“No one in Lebanon will accept this,” Al-Kheir added.

Additionally, critics warn that allowing any non-state entity to retain weapons threatens state authority and risks further destabilizing the country.

Al-Kheir urged Hezbollah and any other party in possession of light weapons to hand them over to the state, citing the recent example set by former Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader Walid Jumblatt.

“Jumblatt announced that his party had surrendered its weapons weeks ago. This is the model to follow,” he told Asharq al-Awsat.

MP Waddah Al-Sadek, of the Change Coalition, said he had no objection to a phased disarmament process that begins with heavy and medium weapons, followed by light arms. He dismissed fears of civil war, saying only one side is armed.

“Armed conflict requires two sides. The army will not engage in internal fighting,” he said. “This talk of civil war is just fear-mongering unless Hezbollah resorts again to something like the May 7 scenario to avoid disarming.”

Al-Sadek stressed that Lebanon’s response to the US proposal - reportedly outlining phased disarmament - will be critical. “Does anyone really have an alternative to engaging with this proposal?” he asked.

Deputy head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Naji Hayek, said all weapons must be handed over, rejecting the idea that civilians or political groups should be allowed to keep light arms for self-defense.

“This theory no longer holds,” Hayek told Asharq al-Awsat, adding that training camps used to militarize society should be shut down. “Light and medium weapons are not only with Hezbollah - they exist with other parties that have military structures, and these too must be dismantled.”

Political analyst Qassem Qassir, who is close to Hezbollah’s thinking, said there is no internal consensus, nor any agreement with Hezbollah, to give up its heavy and medium arms while retaining light weapons.

“The party insists the issue is still the Israeli occupation and ongoing aggression,” he said. “For Hezbollah, no discussion on disarmament is possible until those threats end.”

Qassir warned that if a political solution to the weapons issue is not reached, “we will inevitably face military risks and internal conflict.”

Jumblatt announced in late June that his party had handed over its remaining weapons, including light and medium arms that were gradually accumulated after the May 7 clashes in 2008 during a period of heightened tension with Hezbollah.

He said the weapons had been centrally stored and fully turned over to the Lebanese state.