In an interview with Al-Manar website, Development and Liberation bloc MP Abdul Majid Saleh reassured that Lebanon will defend its water just as it defended its land.

MP Abdul Majid Saleh to Al-Manar Website:
We Will Prove Our Right… Feltman’s Words Baseless
Any Israeli Attempt to Push Us into Talks Will Fail
Era of Israeli Strength and Domination Over
We Will Not Accept Israeli Piracy Anymore
We’re on Right Track… We Won’t Abandon Our Rights

Member of the Development and Liberation parliamentary bloc in Lebanon MP Abdul Majid Saleh stressed that Lebanon will confirm its rights in its oil and gas fields. He spoke of a law on setting Lebanon’s maritime borders and the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone that will see light soon.

In an exclusive interview with Al-Manar Website, Saleh warned that any attempt to push Lebanon into direct negotiations with the Israeli enemy would fail. He said that the era in which Israel used to impose, occupy, kill and destroy without being held accountable was over.

While reiterating that Israel only understands the logic of force and recalling that it withdrew its forces from south Lebanon by force, he didn’t find strange the latest stance in this regard by US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, and said that whatever Feltman says is of no importance.

ISRAEL STOLE LAND, WATER…

MP Abdul Majid Saleh told Al-Manar Website that a law on setting Lebanon’s maritime borders and its Exclusive Economic Zone is a priority. He said that, through this law, Lebanon will be able to confirm its rights in its oil and gas fields.

Saleh said this step was the first and major one to handle the issue, especially after the government succeeded in highlighting Lebanon’s rights in its gas and oil fields.

He noted that Lebanon will resort to the international law to guarantee its right, unlike what happened between the Israeli enemy and some other states.

Answering a question, he warned against the Israeli piracy in Lebanon’s waters, and said aggression was not new for the Israeli enemy who launched aggressions on land and air. Yet, he said resistance was ready for every possibility, recalling that the resistance is the one that demarcated the border.

“No one can tell us how to confirm our rights,” Saleh asserted. “The Lebanese, through the Resistance-Army-People formula, are the ones who specify these rights without anybody’s assistance,” he added.

LEBANON WON’T NEGOTIATE

Saleh commented on the statements made by UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams, during the Security Council’s session over the implementation of resolution 1701.

Williams had said that maritime border disputes are often resolved under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, which includes provisions for an independent arbitration panel and settlement of differences at the International Court of Justice.

While Lebanon has ratified the convention, Israel has not, and because the countries don't have diplomatic relations Williams said "it's difficult for the UN to find a way forward here."

Saleh stressed that any attempt to push Lebanon into direct negotiations with the Israeli enemy over the maritime borders will fail. He recalled that Israel used to violate and break all international resolutions, and had always considered itself the absolute exception. Yet, he vowed that the era in which Israel used to impose, kill and destroy without being questioned was over. He said that Lebanon must now hold Israel accountable as it will not abandon any of its fundamental rights. “If Israel decided not to respect the international law, then it will have to face some trouble,” he said.

FELTMAN SERVING ISRAELI INTERESTS

Member of the Development and Liberation bloc said that the Israeli enemy would not be able to proceed this way, and noted it was seeking stability. He warned that any attempt to change the oil rules will be regarded by the Lebanese as an aggression.

He found strange how aggressive Israel could seek to push Lebanon to negotiations over a Lebanese legal right. “Israel only understands the logic of force,” he said, recalling that it’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 took place only by force.

Saleh did not find strange the stance of US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman in which he sought to undermine the conflict by claiming that “dispute and counter accusations over aggression on each other’s economic zones is not worrying, as this has always been the situation”.

“What Feltman says is not important,” Saleh said. “He only cares for Israel’s interests, given that the American administration has always believed that the Israeli security is a red line.”