Lebanon council orders army to resist Israel aggression

By Wassim Seifeddine

BEIRUT (AA) - Lebanon's Supreme Defense Council gave a mandate to the military on Wednesday to confront Israeli aggression on the country’s borders.

At a meeting chaired by President Michel Aoun and held in Beirut’s presidential palace, the council warned Israel that its plans to build a wall along the shared border would constitute a violation of Lebanese sovereignty and UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

In August of 2006, the UNSC unanimously adopted the resolution, which called for a cessation of all hostilities in southern Lebanon following a devastating conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.

“The council will continue to act on the regional and international levels with a view to preventing Israel from building its planned separation barrier," the council said in a statement.

The Defense Council is mandated with setting -- and implementing -- Lebanon’s national defense policy.

Headed up by the president, the council includes the prime minister and two deputies, along with the ministers of defense, foreign affairs, finance, economy and the interior.