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Mohammed lauds people of Lebanon for bravery, unity

In a statement released by his media office yesterday, Shaikh Mohammed strongly condemned the Israeli attacks, which killed and maimed thousands of innocent people, including children, women and the elderly. He praised the Lebanese people for remaining united and steadfast against the aggression.

He condemned the silence of the international community on “this crime that is taking place on the Lebanese soil against defenceless Lebanese children, women and elderly, who have become the direct target of the fire of Israeli artillery, missiles and war planes for the past 20 days of the unjust war that destroyed Lebanon’s infrastructure, including roads, bridges and other necessary civilian installations, forcing the people to flee their houses to live in open places for fear of their life.”

Shaikh Mohammed held Israel fully responsible for crossing the redline in this war which has totally destroyed Lebanon while Tel Aviv continued to insist on escalating the situation which is already threatening grave consequences, not only at the Arab level but also at the international level. “This clearly shows that the target is not Hezbollah alone but the whole of Lebanon, including its civilisation, history, resources, achievements and various sects, especially innocent children who have been brutally killed by the Israeli artillery and missiles,” he lamented.

The statement said the terrible images of mutilated and dismembered bodies of children and women being telecast worldwide by various Arab and foreign media, leave for Israel no excuse whatsoever to commit such a heinous crime against humanity.

Shaikh Mohammed urged the whole world to condemn this massacre, particularly the carnage in Qana, in which more than 30 children who sought refuge in a building were killed in the Israeli air attack.

He said that the world should not limit its reaction only to condemnation but it should take positive action to end the carnage by effecting, first and foremost, an unconditional ceasefire, to pave the way for political negotiations after cessation of hostilities.

Shaikh Mohammed said Israel’s move to widen the range of war to include the entire Lebanon, north and south, with its territories and civil installations being targeted, “is clear evidence of a contemporary barbarism that threatens global peace and gives rise to a very complicated Arab and international situation, which will be difficult to solve in future.”

It is more appropriate at this critical juncture to strive to reach a ceasefire at any cost through, generally, international and, particularly, American pressure to protect the remaining innocent lives, he said. Shaikh Mohammed further appealed to “people of all creeds, sects and denominations,” to act swiftly and to press their governments to act in order to reach an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.

“This unfair war is irrationally being escalated with various types of destructive weaponry being used to undermine life and leave behind untold tragedies,” he pointed out. He urged Arabs to take a serious stance to put an end to the Israeli aggression and reduce casualties.

Shaikh Mohammed concluded by calling on the international community, and all world organisations, including the UN Security Council, to issue resolutions so that this destructive war could be immediately stopped. It is necessary to make Israel pull out its troops from Lebanon and return Sheba’a farms “to the legitimate owner of the land, whether Syria or Lebanon,” he stressed.

• UAE