Lebanon President: Taking Country to War is ‘Treason’

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that direct negotiations with Israel were aimed at ending the conflict with Hezbollah, while accusing those who drew Lebanon into war of “treason” in an implicit rebuke to the Iran-backed armed group.

“My goal is to reach an end to the state of war with Israel, similar to the armistice agreement” of 1949, Aoun said in a statement, adding that “I assure you that I will not accept reaching a humiliating agreement”.

“Those who dragged us into war in Lebanon are now holding us accountable because we made the decision to go to negotiations… What we are doing is not treason. Rather, treason is committed by those who take their country to war to achieve foreign interests,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military on Monday said it had begun hitting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon’s Bekaa region, amid a ceasefire that began earlier this month.

“The IDF has begun to strike Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the Bekaa valley and in additional areas across southern Lebanon,” it said in a brief statement on social media.(AFP)