France Condemns Israeli Bombing Of Lebanon As Act Of War
Those attacks killed eight Israeli soldiers and two more were taken prisoner.
The French condemnation of the Beirut attacks was unusually forceful at a time when the government here has been relatively restrained in criticizing Israeli actions in Gaza.
"Obviously, we condemn this disproportionate act of war which has other consequences, the first is to force anyone who wants to return to Lebanon to pass either by sea or through Syria," Douste-Blazy said on "Europe 1" radio here.
But even those solutions will be difficult for the Lebanese given the climate in the region and the fact that Israel is also putting a maritime blockade on Lebanon.
"The second consequence is to take the risk of plunging once again Lebanon into the worst years of the war, with the departure of thousands of Lebanese who are going to want to flee at a time when they were in the process of rebuilding their country," the French Minister said.
Israeli air raids in Beirut and in the south of the country have killed 36 people over the past two days, including children, according to local sources, and the fighting could spread further.
"We are taking the risk of a very dangerous spiral of violence which could destabilize the whole region," Douste-Blazy said.
France, he noted, will support a Lebanese demand to bring the issue before the UN Security Council "as soon as possible," and he added that Lebanon had full support from the French government with regard to respect for its territorial integrity.
France, along with the United States and Britain, are the major sponsors of the UN resolution that in the year 2000 set out the "Blue Line" that delineates the border between Israel and Lebanon.
Israel regularly violates this border with flyovers of Lebanese territory and also with incursions to hit Hezbollah resistance positions after clashes with that militant group.
While Hezbollah can also be accused of violations, it is not a sovereign government like Israel and is not necessarily bound by international law to the same degree.
Israel, on the other hand, has acted with impunity concerning UN resolutions -both in Lebanon and relative to the Palestinian issue - despite its claim to being a state of laws, respectful of international conventions.