Saudi Arabia announces its express support for the Lebanese Army in the face of attacks by Hezbollah
The Saudi Foreign Ministry announces its support for the Lebanese Government following the attack on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
The Government of Saudi Arabia, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has issued a statement expressly announcing its support for the measures being taken by the Lebanese Government in the face of Hezbollah's attempts at destabilisation.
The trigger for this communiqué was the attack suffered by a convoy of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on 14 February on the road to Beirut Rafik Hariri airport, which had been blocked by Hezbollah sympathisers.
Saudi Arabia communiqué
The communiqué issued on Sunday 16th February by the Saudi Foreign Ministry headed by Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud states: ‘The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its full support for the measures adopted by the Lebanese Republic to confront attempts to alter the security of Lebanese citizens and to firmly address the attack on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL’.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that ‘the Kingdom renews its support and confidence in the measures adopted by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in this regard, as well as in the national tasks carried out by the Lebanese Army that contribute to achieving security and stability’.
The fact that the Saudi Arabian government has clearly and publicly expressed its support for the measures adopted by the Lebanese government to control Hezbollah is something unprecedented until now. Usually, Saudi Arabia resorts to discretion when dealing with these issues; however, on this occasion, it has opted for a public and forceful statement.
According to analysts, the Saudi government issued this statement in order to prevent Hezbollah from reorganising and plunging Lebanon back into chaos, returning to the situation that existed before the current president, Joseph Aoun, came to power.
On the other hand, this explicit declaration by the Saudi government also seeks to act as a call to arms for other regional and international authorities to join in supporting the Lebanese army against the threat of Hezbollah.
Dozens detained after the attack
The attack on the convoy of the United Nations Interim Force on the road to Beirut airport, blocked by dozens of Hezbollah sympathisers, resulted in two officers being wounded, one of whom was the outgoing deputy commander.
The day after the attack, on 15 February, the Lebanese Minister of the Interior, Ahmed Hajjar, announced the arrest of 25 people allegedly involved in the attack, while the Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, assured that the security of Beirut International Airport is above all other considerations and that the authorities will not tolerate any violation of this.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated during the press conference he held on 16 February with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that ‘Hezbollah must be completely disarmed’.
Hezbollah disavows the attack
Despite the fact that various official and independent reports hold Hezbollah members and sympathisers responsible for the attack on 14 February against a convoy of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the organisation has tried to distance itself from the attack.
Thus, in a communiqué issued on the same day as that of the Saudi Foreign Ministry, Hezbollah stated that ‘we condemn the incident that targeted UNIFIL forces near Rafik Hariri International Airport, and we affirm our absolute rejection of any attack against them, as well as any damage to public and private property’.
According to analysts, this attempt to distance itself from the events is part of a strategy to avoid becoming a target of the Lebanese Army and a target of external criticism for its attack on UN forces.
The army's reaction to the provocations of Hezbollah sympathisers could lead to a mutual escalation, which this group does not consider advisable.