The Hezbollah Lawyers’ Assembly on Saturday condemned Israeli attacks on civilians in the southern Lebanese towns of Ansar and Deir Al-Zahrani, calling on the Lebanese authorities to withdraw from direct negotiations with Israel and restore Lebanon’s right to pursue Israeli occupation officials before international courts and human rights bodies.
In a statement, the assembly denounced in the strongest terms the Israeli massacres and attacks targeting civilians, saying they were part of Israel’s longstanding aggressive and genocidal policy and its campaign of forced displacement.
It said the killing of civilians, targeting of residential areas, and systematic destruction of villages constituted flagrant violations of international humanitarian law and international conventions. It attributed the attacks to the Lebanese authorities’ abandonment of Lebanon’s legal right to hold Israel accountable and their legitimization of the occupation.
The association called on the Lebanese authorities to withdraw from direct negotiations with Israel and from the framework agreement and to restore Lebanon’s right to pursue Israel before international and human rights bodies.
It also called for Israeli violations to be thoroughly documented and referred to the relevant international authorities, rather than limiting Lebanon’s response to statements and condemnations that, it said, had failed to deter Israel from continuing its attacks.
The association urged the Beirut and Tripoli Bar Associations, as well as human rights organizations, to assume their responsibilities and pursue legal action against Israel, stressing that no provision in an unconstitutional and illegitimate agreement should prevent them from doing so.
It concluded by asserting that protecting national sovereignty and civilians requires upholding Lebanon’s right to resist occupation and aggression and defend its land and people. It affirmed the resistance and the right of peoples to self-determination as fundamental rights guaranteed under international and Arab conventions and customary law, which, it said, cannot be nullified by the illegitimate decisions taken on a dark day.
Source: Al-Manar Website