The head of Lebanon’s General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, denied reports that he conveyed a message from Hezbollah to Maronite Patriarch Beshara Boutros al-Rai, with whom he met on Wednesday.
“I think that His Beatitude does not need to exchange messages; He is in constant contact with all components of the Lebanese people,” he said following his visit to Diman, the Patriarch’s summer residence.
Regarding Rai’s call for Lebanon to adopt a neutral policy, the security chief said: “The Patriarch promotes this initiative, and, as he said, neutrality needs the consensus of all Lebanese, and we hope that this will happen.”
On the recent security escalation in the South between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Ibrahim underlined the need to extend the mandate of the international peacekeeping forces operating in the South (UNIFIL).
“The situation today is tense and not guaranteed, but by working hard we can absorb and reduce tension,” he remarked.
When asked if there was a desire or will on the part of officials to resolve the country’s worsening problems, he replied: “Certainly, there is a will… and there is a determination to get out of this tunnel despite the impact of regional and international conditions on us."
"But I am sure that everything we do will lead to a result that may be modest at first, but will grow in the end,” Ibrahim noted.
