The Lebanese Parliament held a session on Saturday to condemn the Israeli aggression against the
Gaza Strip and to voice support for the Christians who are being displaced from Iraq’s Mosul due to the threats of the Islamic State.
Speaking on behalf of the Parliament, Speaker Nabih Berri called for lifting the siege of Gaza, releasing Palestinian prisoners and prosecuting Israeli officials who are responsible for the bloodshed.
Berri also urged the international community to take action in order to end the forced expulsion of Christians from the city of Mosul.
For his part, Prime Minister Tammam Salam noted that the Palestinian people still have the right to defend their cause, calling on the international community to pressure Israel to halt its offensive.
In turn, the head of the Change and Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun stressed the need to end the Israeli practices in Gaza and that of the Islamic State in Syria’s Raqqa and Iraq’s Mosul.
He added that “a deadly ethnic cleansing is underway in Gaza, while the world stands idly by and counts victims without caring for the suffering of the people.”
“Where are the world powers and the United Nations Security Council?” he asked.
As well, the head of the Future Movement MP Fouad Siniora called for building an alliance between the Christians and the Muslims against extremism.
He noted that the international community has failed to implement its own resolutions and to put an end to Israel’s practices, warning the international organizations against the repercussions of ignoring the Palestinian cause.
MP Ali Fayad also asserted that Israel's practices in Gaza prove that "the Resistance is the sole option in order to face the enemy."
Meanwhile, Lebanese Forces MP Georges Adwan noted that the Israeli offense on the Gaza Strip "violates the Human Rights charter."
He also condemned the Islamic State's attacks on the Christians of Iraq's Mosul, calling on all political sides "to stand united facing those who threaten the coexistence."
The Islamic State, which last month declared a “caliphate” straddling large swathes of northern Iraq and Syria, has threatened a Christian presence in the region spanning close to two millennia.
Over the weekend, hundreds of families fled Mosul, a once-cosmopolitan city that is the country’s second largest.
In the Gaza Strip, Israel will extend a humanitarian truce by a further four hours, a government source said on Saturday, as the number of Palestinian deaths in the 19-day war topped 1,000.