Municipalities, activists and mukhtars of Christian border villages in southern Lebanon categorically denied the validity of what was circulated in some media outlets regarding leaders from these villages approaching Israeli officials to request the annexation of the villages and the granting of Israeli citizenship, as stated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They described these claims as “fabricated and having no relation to reality whatsoever.”
A statement issued by these villages affirmed that “these claims are completely unfounded, and that the people of the border villages are committed to the Lebanese state and its legitimacy, and have not deviated from this position despite the difficult circumstances imposed by the war.”
The statement indicated that “these villages, since the outbreak of the war, have been keen to coordinate with the Lebanese authorities, religious authorities and international bodies, with the aim of keeping humanitarian corridors open and ensuring continued communication with the Lebanese interior and its legitimate institutions,” stressing that “the people of the Christian border villages are proud of their national belonging, and they hold fast to Lebanon as their final homeland, rejecting any attempts to distort their positions or exploit their suffering to serve agendas that have no relation to them.”
The statement stressed that “what is being circulated falls within the framework of fabricated news aimed at harming the residents of the border villages and sowing confusion,” reaffirming “the commitment to the Lebanese state and its national choices.”
The statement was signed by the municipalities, mukhtars, and activists of the Christian border villages, namely: Alma al-Shaab, al-Qouzah, Dibil, Rmeish, Ain Ebel, Deir Mimas, Burj al-Muluk, al-Qlaiaa, Sarda, Jdeidet Marjeyoun, Ibl al-Saqi, Koukba, al-Bouayda, Rashaya al-Fakhar, and Abu Qamha.
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that some Christian villages in southern Lebanon, large parts of which are currently occupied by the Jewish state, had “requested to be annexed” to Israel in order to be protected from Hezbollah fighters.
The war in the Middle East spread to Lebanon on March 2nd after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel, which it said was in retaliation for the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the first US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28th.
Israel responded with a massive campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion, and issued repeated evacuation warnings for areas in southern Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of about 4,300 people and the displacement of more than one million people, especially from southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, according to authorities.
Netanyahu claimed in an interview with “The Sunday Briefing” on Fox News, “Christian villages in Lebanon, some of them actually asked to be annexed to Israel, because we are protecting (their inhabitants) from Hezbollah, from Hezbollah extremists who want to kill them, and we are doing the same thing with Christians everywhere.”
Since the outbreak of the war, some Christian villages in southern Lebanon have been subjected to artillery shelling and Israeli air raids, forcing their inhabitants to flee.
However, the residents of most of these towns remained in them despite the Israeli evacuation warnings, as they preferred to stay to protect their homes, churches and agricultural lands, although a number of them were partially or completely evacuated.
During the war, the Israeli occupation army warned several towns, whose inhabitants are predominantly Christian, of the need to prevent “strangers” from entering them, referring to Hezbollah fighters, through telephone calls that the Hebrew state forces made to the mayors of these villages and their local officials.
In a separate speech at an official event on Sunday, Netanyahu reiterated that the Israeli army would remain in southern Lebanon "as long as it is necessary to protect the residents of the north and all citizens of Israel."
Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said on Sunday, during a visit to soldiers deployed around Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, that “the Israeli army will continue to act decisively to remove threats from Lebanese territory, and is prepared to move quickly to offensive operations if the ceasefire is violated.”
Clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters continued despite the framework agreement signed between Israel and Lebanon with American mediation.
During his interview with Fox News, Netanyahu also addressed reports of disagreements between him and US President Donald Trump regarding the memorandum of understanding that halted the war with Iran.Netanyahu said, "We have an excellent relationship, and it is, as I said, between two allies."
He added, “We have the same view 99 percent of the time, but as in any family, and in any close friendship, there are sometimes differences of opinion, and we discuss them frankly (…) and usually resolve them as well.”
Netanyahu's statement comes a day after Trump told the Axios news website that the Israeli prime minister "knows who the boss is" in their relationship.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Netanyahu in recent weeks during negotiations over the memorandum of understanding with Iran, accusing him of not being “grateful” to the United States, and describing him as a “very difficult” and “crazy” man because of Israel’s escalation in Lebanon.
Trump indicated in his interview with Axios that Netanyahu might visit the White House in the coming days.
