A high-ranking Lebanese official expressed on Monday concern that the situation in Lebanon will quickly deteriorate if the Israeli-Palestinian violence gets out of hand and spills across the Lebanese border, according to the Daily Star newspaper.
“(Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon could decide to escalate the situation with both Lebanon and Syria as a way out of the Jewish state’s present deadlock with the Palestinians,” the official, on condition of anonymity, told the paper.
“The situation is calm in the south now, and this makes it easier for UNIFIL to keep things under control. But in the case of any sudden regional escalation, the present peace there will be destabilized.”
Meanwhile, the source told the paper that the US administration’s reluctance to deal with the Middle East peace process could destabilize the whole region.
“Washington’s slowness in reacting to events in the Middle East and south Lebanon in particular is a cause of concern for the majority of countries that have UNIFIL contingents in Lebanon, especially France,” he said.
The source added that “according to recent reports received from diplomatic channels, the situation between Lebanon and Israel will not be discussed in the US in-depth before May.”
