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Lebanon seeks increased UN aid

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Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri asked a UN forum in Rome for increased aid to help provide for a million refugees they have absorbed from Syria.

The Prime Minister presented a five-year plan for Lebanon’s military and security services, which includes boosting Lebanese Army forces in southern Lebanon. He argued that more support for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and internal security forces was the best way to keep Hezbollah in check. He also concluded that Israel “remains the primary threat to Lebanon.”

Following the meeting, a joint statement from the conference participants said Lebanon should “accelerate effective and durable deployments to the South”. The European Union pledged $61.6m (£41.4m) to Lebanon’s security forces, the UK pledged an additional $13m (£9.3m).

Hariri dismissed concerns that weapons intended for the LAF would end up in the hands of Hezbollah, saying: “We have never lost a weapon to anyone and it will never happen in the future.”

Following the conference, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, “This is the moment in which the international community needs to express its full support for Lebanon.”

Hezbollah’s second in command, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said yesterday that he does not expect Israel to attack in the near future, but Hezbollah is ready to “confront aggression if it happens. We have declared repeatedly and frequently that we, as the resistance, work to have permanent readiness and we are ready to confront the Israeli aggression if it happens, and therefore we are ready to defend ourselves by all available means,” he said.

Earlier this year, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot said: “The Hezbollah terror group is breaking the UN Security Council resolutions, it maintains a military presence in the area, is holding military systems, and is improving its military capabilities. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) is working day and night against these threats to ensure readiness and deterrence.”