On Tuesday night the UN Security Council passed a presidential statement reiterating its full support for the Lebanese constitution, a nod to the Qatari ambassador who made changes to reflect the fact that the council embraces the democratically-elected government as a whole. The Security Council calls upon all Lebanese political parties to show responsibility with a view to preventing, through dialogue, further deterioration of the situation in Lebanon, according to the statement read out on Tuesday. The statement also encourages Lebanon to reinforce its borders and the exercise of its monopoly of the use of force all over its territory in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions, duly noting the fact that Hezbollah is not allowed to operate in the region. It also reiterated the call to disband and disarm all militias and armed groups in Lebanon, referring to both the Palestinians and Hezbollah without naming either group directly. The statement also acknowledges that UNIFIL the UN peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon south of the Litani River should have completed its deployment early next year. The council also called for the unconditional release of the abducted Israeli soldiers and encourages efforts aimed at urgently settling the issue of the Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel.
