Visiting envoys warn Beirut against being dragged into a new war

Foreign delegations visiting Beirut in recent days have warned Lebanese officials against sliding into a new military adventure, ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat, in a report carried by LBCI.

According to the sources, the messages said that Israel would not respect previously agreed limits if a new round of fighting broke out, and linked the warnings to recent threats by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Officials fear Lebanon could again become an arena for settling regional scores, especially if Iran were struck and Hezbollah moved to support it.

"The advice is clear," one source said, using a Lebanese expression meaning that this time no one would escape the consequences.

The warnings underline why the decision of war and peace must rest with the Lebanese state alone. Lebanon's people, who have paid dearly in the south, need the state's diplomacy, the army and Arab and Western partners to keep the country out of other people's wars.