STORY: French FM urges Hezbollah, Israel to avoid escalation
SHOOTING TIME: April 30, 2024
DATELINE: May 1, 2024
LENGTH: 0:02:42
LOCATION: Beirut
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of speaker Nabih Berri and French FM Stephane Sejourne
2. various of Berri during talks with Sejourne and French delegation
3. various of Prime Minister Najib Mikati during meeting with Sejourne and French delegation
4. various of Sejourne during talks with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib
5. various of French delegation member former Ambassador to Lebanon Anne Grillo
6. various of delegations from two sides talking
7. SOUNDBITE (French): STEPHANE SEJOURNE, French Foreign Minister

STORYLINE:

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne on Sunday called on Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel to avoid escalation, reaffirming France's ongoing efforts to prevent the expansion of conflict between the two sides.

Sejourne made the remarks after his meeting in Beirut with senior Lebanese officials, during which they discussed solutions to the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

SOUNDBITE (French): STEPHANE SEJOURNE, French Foreign Minister 
"Good Morning to you all. We reject the worst scenario in Lebanon, which is war. And it is the civilian population that is paying the price. This is the message that I relayed today to Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the army commander and I will relay this same message to Israel on Tuesday.
I went this morning to visit the French contingent at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). I salute the force and its engagement. UNIFIL forces play a decisive role in avoiding the worst scenario, and all parties must allow UNIFIL to carry out its full tasks."

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said during his meeting with Sejourne that "the French initiative constitutes a practical framework for implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701," according to a statement released by the Lebanese Council of Ministers.

Mikati said Lebanon was committed to its full implementation, and demanded Israel to honor its commitments and stop its destructive aggression in southern Lebanon.

During the meeting with Sejourne, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib also underlined the importance of implementing Resolution 1701 to achieve stability.

The resolution was adopted in August 2006 to seek a full cessation of hostilities shortly after a month of deadly warfare between Israel and Hezbollah ended with a fragile truce.

Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. 

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beirut.
(XHTV)