麻豆社

Lebanon鈥檚 Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has told the 麻豆社 he fears the Israel-Gaza conflict 鈥榤ay spread鈥� but he is 鈥榣ess pessimistic鈥� than at the start of the war.

In an interview with HARDtalk, Dr Bou Habib said, 鈥業 think there is a conviction, at least in Lebanon, that we don't want war.鈥� But he warned there was concern about the destruction in Gaza. 鈥楶eople here are interrelated,鈥� he said. 鈥榃e have half a million Palestinians in Lebanon. There are a lot of people that are resistance minded.鈥�

There have been widespread concerns that the current conflict between Israel and Hamas could spread across the region. Hezbollah, the powerful Iranian-backed militia based in Lebanon, fought a war with Israel in 2006. In recent days, the Israel Defense Force has hit targets in Lebanon after missiles were fired towards northern Israel.

鈥淲e think that Hezbollah is not going to start a big war unless things get very, very, very bad in Gaza. Or unless Israel strikes first in a bad way,鈥� said Minister Bou Habib.

Lebanon has been gripped by economic and political crises in the last few years. It has seen a recession that has almost halved its GDP and been without a formal government for the last year.

鈥淲e have a lot of problems - economic, political and social problems,鈥� said the Foreign Minister. 鈥淎nd everyone in Lebanon does not want war.鈥�

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