The US ambassador asks Israel not to overstate the violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon

MADRID Dec. 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The US ambassador to Israel, Jacob Lew, warned the Israeli authorities this Thursday not to overstate the “small” violations of the ceasefire with the Shiite militia party Hezbollah in Lebanon so as not to blow it up.

“Israel has made it clear that it has to be able to defend itself, but it also has to act in a way that does not turn small things into big things,” he stressed during an interview in English with the Israeli broadcasting corporation Kan.

Likewise, Lew has pointed out that Lebanon “has to gain more and more control”, although all of this “is going to take time.” “It is vitally important that (the agreement) continues to be maintained and we are part of it by having a mechanism in place,” he added.

The leader of the Lebanese Shiite party-militia Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, denounced this Thursday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have committed more than 60 violations of the ceasefire agreement reached between the parties in the middle of the month and that It contemplates not only the end of mutual attacks, but also the withdrawal of Israeli troops and militiamen of the Islamist group from southern Lebanon.

For its part, the Government of Israel has insisted that its military attacks on Lebanese territory do not represent a violation of the ceasefire reached last week, but rather respond to alleged non-compliance by the Shiite group Hezbollah, which it has urged to abandon. completely the southern part of Lebanon.

The United States is a guarantor of the agreement along with France. The pact, lasting about 60 days, stipulates that both the Islamist group and Israeli troops must leave the south of Lebanese territory in favor of the regular Lebanese Army, which must take positions in the area to guarantee the security of northern Israel.