Lebanon’s Rai Calls for Calming Southern Front to Resume Border Demarcation Talks

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai (NNA)
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai (NNA)
TT

Lebanon’s Rai Calls for Calming Southern Front to Resume Border Demarcation Talks

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai (NNA)
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai (NNA)

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rai has called for “calming the southern front,” so that Lebanon, “under international auspices, resumes border demarcation negotiations with Israel.”

His remarks came a day after Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah threatened to respond to any Israeli strike immediately, during maneuvers organized by the Israeli army along the border area.

Rai’s mass sermon on Sunday, focused on a number of crises including the migrant boat that sank off Tripoli’s coast last month.

“Images of the sinking boat disaster off Tripoli’s shores are still vivid before our eyes, and the pain continues in our hearts as we see the death of children, youth, mothers and fathers,” the patriarch said.

He continued: “It is not permissible for this tragedy to be a mere passing event, as some people try to turn its page just as they are trying to turn the page on the Beirut port blast and the explosion in the village of Al-Tleil in Akkar and others.

He urged the authorities “to conduct a transparent and impartial investigation to determine responsibilities and put an end to questions and suspicion on the eve of parliamentary elections.”

The Patriarch also urged Lebanese citizens to vote massively in the polls, stressing that the elections “give citizens the opportunity to tell the world which Lebanon they desire… and that they reject every proposal for a settlement … that is inconsistent with the reality of the country.”

“It is clear that the majority of the Lebanese adhere to a free, democratic and neutral Lebanon; a Lebanon of national partnership and charter; a Lebanon of historical identity, justice and equality; a Lebanon of one army and constitutional institutions,” Rai said, underlining that the Lebanese want to “live, prosper and have a free economy.”



Palestinian Health Ministry Says One Dead in Israel West Bank Raid

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
TT

Palestinian Health Ministry Says One Dead in Israel West Bank Raid

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)

The health ministry in the occupied West Bank said one person was killed and nine injured in an Israeli raid on a refugee camp, with the Israeli military saying Saturday it had opened fire at "terrorists".

An 18-year-old man, Muhammad Medhat Amin Amer, "was killed by bullets from the (Israeli) occupation in the Balata camp" in the territory's north, the Palestinian health ministry said in a late-night statement, adding that nine people were injured, "four of whom are in critical condition".

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the raid began on Friday night and triggered violent clashes, AFP reported.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli troops entered the camp from the Awarta checkpoint and "deployed snipers on the rooftops of surrounding buildings".

In a statement on Saturday, the Israeli military said that during the "counterterrorism" operation, "terrorists placed explosives in the area in order to harm (military) soldiers, hurled explosives, molotov cocktails, and rocks and shot fireworks at the forces".

"The forces fired toward the terrorists in order to remove the threat. Hits were identified," the statement said.

Violence in the West Bank has intensified since war broke out in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Since then, at least 815 Palestinians have been killed in the territory by Israeli troops or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.

In the same period, Palestinian attacks in the West Bank have killed at least 25 Israelis, according to official Israeli figures.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since conquering it in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.