JERUSALEM: Germany’s foreign minister on Tuesday urged Lebanese authorities to confront Hezbollah and reassert state control over the country’s south, where the militant group has been engaged in hostilities with Israeli forces.
During a visit to Jerusalem, Johann Wadephul, who backed Israel’s ground invasion of southern Lebanon earlier this year, also praised the US-brokered agreement between Israel and Lebanon, pledging Germany’s support for what he described as a “historic” initiative.
“What is crucial is that Lebanon now needs determination on its side, to assert itself and ensure that Hezbollah no longer actually exercises control in southern Lebanon,” Wadephul said at a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart.
Lebanon must “in particular ensure that no danger whatsoever to Israel emanates from Lebanese territory,” he said.
Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2, when it fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei in joint US-Israeli airstrikes.
