Türkiye and the European Union countries rejected Israeli threats of a ground operation in Lebanon, and called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and to avoid further escalation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that the United Nations General Assembly must recommend the use of force, in line with a resolution it issued in 1950, if the Security Council cannot stop Israel’s attacks in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
“The United Nations General Assembly must quickly use its authority to recommend the use of force, as it did in the Union for Peace resolution in 1950, if the Security Council cannot show the necessary will,” Erdogan added after a government meeting in Ankara.
He also urged Islamic countries to take economic, diplomatic and political steps against Israel to pressure it to accept a ceasefire, and added that Israel’s attacks would also target them if they were not stopped soon.
For his part, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that it is necessary to avoid any further military interventions in Lebanon.
“Any further military intervention will greatly aggravate the situation and must be avoided,” Borrell told reporters in Mexico after an emergency teleconference of European Union foreign ministers.
French and British calls to stop the escalation
As part of the reaction to the escalation of the Israeli threat to invade Lebanon, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot today urged Israel not to launch any ground invasion of Lebanon.
Barrow told reporters – during a visit to Lebanon – “I urge Israel not to launch any ground incursion, and to cease fire. I call on Hezbollah to do the same and not to take any action that might lead to destabilization in the region.”
He added, “We are ready to help implement Resolution 1701 (regarding the cessation of hostilities in southern Lebanon) and we will strengthen our support for the Lebanese army,” stressing that the previous ceasefire proposal regarding Lebanon “is still on the table.”
In this context, Britain said on Monday that all parties must seek to stop the escalation and ceasefire after Israel launched air strikes on targets in Lebanon, stressing the need for all parties to the conflict to retreat from the brink of the abyss.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Britain’s support for Israel’s right to self-defense was “unwavering” but that stability and security could only be restored to the region through a ceasefire.
It is noteworthy that the Israeli army had previously announced its readiness for a broader war in Lebanon, and said that a ground operation was an option, indicating that Hezbollah could still fire on Israel.
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy said that difficult days await Israel, just a few days after the assassination of the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, in an Israeli raid in the southern suburb of Beirut, which also resulted in the killing of prominent leaders in the party and a commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.