EXCLUSIVE: We hope diplomacy wins, says Lebanon's envoy to India Dr Rabie Narsh on West Asia situation

Lebanon's ambassador to India Dr Rabie Narsh termed the ongoing situation in West Asia as "tense" & "volatile". In an exclusive interview with WION's Sidhant Sibal, he said, "Situation in the region is like the a race between diplomacy and war and we hope that diplomacy will win."

Over 1400 Israelis and 5,000 plus Palestinians have died in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that started earlier this month putting the region on tenterhooks.

Diplomatic efforts are on, including those led by US and Egypt to de-escalate the situation but so far the situation remains concerning.

Asked about the Lebanon-Israel border situation, the ambassador said, "We have always been calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict. We have experienced war and we know what war means. We know the devastating repercussions of any war. It's not a cakewalk, and the Israeli side should also know the same because it will impact not only Lebanon but all the regions and would affect Israel badly." The worry remains for Lebanon as several countries have asked their nationals to leave the country.

He welcomed India's stance on the ongoing situation, explaining, "India has a historic friendship with the Arab world, particularly they are strong supporters to the Palestinian cause. And also they have a friendly relationship with Israel. So that's why India is entitled and they are, I mean, qualified and they are doing a great job and playing a great role in this conflict."

Here's the complete interview

WION: What is Lebanon making of the ongoing situation? We have seen the attack by Hamas and then the retaliation by Israel. So what's your government's position on the development?

Dr Rabie Narsh: The situation is really worrisome and quite tense. But let me say something, let me start with putting, calling the things by their right names. The situation did not start on October the seventh with the Hamas attack. The situation started a long time before that. Started with the occupation of the of Israel to the Palestinian lands and since putting 2.5 million Palestinians in the biggest open prison in the world. So of course, as you asked me about Lebanon's position, of course, we are calling for peace. We have always called for a peaceful solution to the problem. It is Israel who refused and kept on refusing all initiatives or peace initiatives. So, Lebanon's position is very well known. We are against escalation, against war, against attacking civilians, but we have to be firm and we have to see the root cause of the situation, which is the occupation, the Israeli occupation of the Arab lands.

WION: Asyou mentioned the situation of the civilians, will you term the attack by Hamas a terror attack? Will you condemn the attack.

Dr Rabie Narsh:This actually... this mindset of asking the host to condemn. Well, like I said, I mean, this mindset has to change. It's not about condemning. If you want to condemn, of course, yes, I told you we condemn all civilian casualties, we condemn killing civilians. But let's be fair and condemn, I assume you condemn Israel's attack on civilians. Israel's occupation is the cause, and what all Palestinians and every act of resistance is the retaliation, is the reaction. So yes, I condemn civilian killing, but in this sense, I condemn in the strongest terms Israel's ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip. I condemn the carpet bombing, the leveling of whole villages and whole neighbourhoods to the ground, of bombing hospitals. You have seen al-Ahli hospital and other hospitals... of bombing schools... of targeting civilian infrastructures. Yes, of course, we do condemn this.

WION: Howis Lebanon reaching out to the people of Palestine? You mentioned the situation in Gaza... are you sending some kind of humanitarian aid as well, to the people of Gaza impacted by the Israeli bombings?

Dr Rabie Narsh: Notwithstanding the dire economic situation that Lebanon currently is going through. But how could we send it? I mean we have no direct channel and Israel has a complete seal off of the Palestinian territories. So it is not to my knowledge that we are sending some humanitarian aid but of course, we are contributors to the international agencies like UNRWA, who helped the Palestinian refugees. Of course, we do. We have to see something so that we can understand the bigger situation, the bigger picture, and the societies in that region. The Arab societies are so interrelated. So there are relatives everywhere. That's why I mean when an attack happened on the Palestinians, maybe the Arabs in Algeria, they get hurt. I mean, like here in India, you know, we are one country, so if something happened to the in South India, here in North India, you feel sorry for that and you feel like you are concerned. So that's why I mean, the attack of Israel, of course, concerned us.

WION: Your country, it looks like will be impacted, we have seen several advisories. Do you see this situation as a worrisome situation?

Dr Rabie Narsh: This is only normal in times of war, in terms of words, we see all the foreign embassies. They call for nationals to be careful or to leave that country or not to visit that country, which is being attacked or under the threat of being attacked. So yes, I mean, it's normal, plus because I think the ambassadors, the foreign ambassadors in Lebanon, they know well that Israel is a real threat and when they say we might attack Lebanon, they can. Because we have been subjected to Israeli attacks for a long time. And many times they bombed Lebanon and they attacked. So Israeli aggression is quite a fact. And yeah, I think I understand the foreign embassies calling on the nationals to be careful or leave, unfortunately, but yeah, that's I mean, because I think they know the Israeli intention.

WION: Now, we saw the comments coming from Israel, they have said that Hezbollah is firing into Israeli territory, and there might be a second front that might open, in Israel's north. They have also said that there could be a second Israel-Lebanon War. What do you make out of these comments?

Dr Rabie Narsh: It's not true that Hezbollah has initiated any attack against Israel. Hezbollah has been in defensive mode. Of course, I have told you the relation and interrelated societies, so yeah, despite the fact that anybody in Lebanon or in the Arab world feels that they are concerned about the Israeli attacks on the Palestinians. Despite that fact, Hezbollah didn't retaliate. Of course, now there is some exchange of fires. Hezbollah mainly attacks Israeli posts but on the occupied territories of Lebanon. I mean, there are talks to keep the situation under control and not to get spilled into an all-out war.

WION: You mentioned about the talks... talks between which side?

Dr Rabie Narsh: Lebanon's government is in talks with the Syrians, Iranians, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. I mean, of course, there are diplomatic talks. The situation in the region is like a race between diplomacy and war. And we hope that diplomacy will win.

WION: Do you think that the situation can escalate very fast?

Dr Rabie Narsh: Given the fact that our neighbour, the occupying force of Israel is, you know, armed to the teeth, they have weapons of mass destruction, they have nuclear weapons, and they have the intention of aggression. So yes, given these facts, so yeah, we are afraid that the situation might escalate, but no one knows which is the threshold... the trigger point of all-out war. So we're afraid of the escalation of the situation in Gaza, the number of casualties and you know that the numbers and the numbers of casualties, really something very worrisome. It's beyond imagination. So far more than 6,000 Palestinians have been killed. Half of them are children and women. So yeah, I mean, no one guarantees that the situation will not escalate. But as I said, the initiatives and the talks are there, and hopefully, things will abate and the situation will be controlled.

WION: So particularly talking about the situation in the southern part of your country, southern Lebanon, what is the situation like?

Dr Rabie Narsh: Of course, the situation is quite tense. As I said, quite tense, worrisome, volatile. It's the people who are afraid because as I said, again, they have experienced Israeli aggression and yeah, of course, they are afraid of being the targets of Israel. In 2006, Israel attacked at United Nations complex. So yes, we're afraid, people in south Lebanon, and not only in southern Lebanon, also in Lebanon and the neighbouring region. I mean, the whole region is worried about the escalation.

WION: Are there anycasualties in southern Lebanon?

Dr Rabie Narsh: Yeah, we have suffered casualties. We have one journalist unfortunately killed by the Israeli direct attack and we also have civilians of course.

WION: There is the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission as well and there is the presence of the Indian peacekeepers as well as how safe they are. And the role played by the UN peacekeepers... if you can perhaps talk about?

Dr Rabie Narsh: AsI said the Israelis attacked a UN complex in 2006 and by the way India participates in the UNFIL-United Nations interim forces for peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, and India has a big contingent, about 900 soldiers, doing peacekeeping. They are playing, of course, a great role in defusing the tension and to contact - indirect talks between the Lebanese army and the Israeli side.

WION: We have seen a lot of mention of Hezbollah. What's the role of Hezbollah in terms of the ongoing situation, if you can talk about that? Because we all know that the Israeli side has said that because the Hezbollah the situation is escalating. Many say it's Hezbollah and Iran working in that part of Lebanon, that is escalating the situation. What is the exact situation?

Dr Rabie Narsh: Well, Hezbollah is the Lebanese movement. They are Lebanese. Of course, it's not secret that they have support from Iran. But their agenda is Lebanese and they are the resistance movement because they played a great role in liberating parts of the occupied territories of Lebanon. It's a political party also, they are represented in the parliament and also indirectly represented in the government. So they are the Lebanese movement. They are also the resistance group. So it is an armed resistance group. But then again, Hezbollah doesn't want any escalation on the border. But like I said, when this situation escalates to a degree, to an unbearable degree, which no one knows what is its cap, then the situation might, unfortunately, spill over into something that we don't want.

WION: So you said in the starting that the Arab world is in a state of shock, if you can help our viewers understand how big is the ongoing development for the Arab capitals, how concerned not only Lebanon, but the other Arab capitals are about the situation, particularly when it comes to the situation in Gaza?

Dr Rabie Narsh: Everybody is concerned, the whole world is concerned because war is bad. No one wants war and all people and the international community call for peace. And in this same context the Arab world... all... they call for peace. By the way, the Arab states, the 22 Arab states, meeting in Beirut, the summit of Beirut, the Arab League summit in 2002, they put on the table, a peace initiative. It was called the Beirut peace initiative in 2002... collectively they said we are ready to recognise Israel, have a normal relationship with Israel, diplomatic relationship with Israel, and in turn return all Palestinian states and respect the right of return of Palestinians to there lands. So this was unprecedented. This was a historic move, a historic initiative from the Arab world, the Arab states, but unfortunately, it has been refused by Israel. Since then every year this initiative has been put on the table again, and Israel refused again and again. The only solution that the whole world focuses on and the whole world agrees on, is the two-state solution. Everyone in the world is with a two-state solution. And in every regional meeting or international meeting... this term is always there. India has been forever calling for a two-state solution. There's only one state that refuses this solution, which is Israel and how can one state only refuse this, this peaceful solution until now, their word is respected. I mean, till now we don't have a Palestinian state, because one state consider itself above international law and beyond all standards. They keep disrupting this initiative, this peaceful initiative. And that's what for now, Palestinians have no state, have no place I mean, that no sovereign state, that is the problem.

WION: How do you see India's position?

Dr Rabie Narsh: India is a peace-loving country. India has a great role to play in the international arena and India has so far been playing a great peaceful role and constructive role in the international arena. On this subject, in particular, India has always been calling for a two-state solution. They call for a peaceful, sovereign state of Palestine, living in peace, side by side with the Israeli state. But like I said, the only country that's against the solution is Israel and unfortunately, we don't have so far, we haven't seen this solution implemented. So India, yes, has been playing a role. India has a historic friendship with the Arab world, particularly because they are strong supporters of the Palestinian cause. And also they have a friendly relationship with Israel. So that's why India is entitled and they are, I mean, qualified and they are doing a great job and playing a great role in this conflict.

WION: Doyou see the Indian role in de-escalating this ongoing situation? Reaching out to both Israel and Palestine?

Dr Rabie Narsh: Yes, of course, I mean, there should be... I mean, not only from India but from the international community, there should be more pressure on Israel. Because what we've seen is really madness, to give Israel a free ticket to bomb and to kill the Palestinians is not fair. India has been calling on Israel for restraint. But I believe that more pressure can be placed on Israel, for ceasefire, and cessation of hostilities, all kinds of hostilities in Gaza and occupied territories of Palestine.

WION: Are we looking at some talks between Indian, and Lebanese leadership? PM Modi has spoken to leaders of Israel, Palestine, and Jordan.

Dr Rabie Narsh: We are in touch with the MEA through the Arab ambassadors collectively. There hasn't been, yet any direct bilateral contact between the Lebanese side and the Indian side. But of course, the channels are open and anytime we can see such channels established.

WION: So the Arab ambassadors here in Delhi are reaching to MEA...

Dr Rabie Narsh:We are in direct contact with the officials in the Ministry of External Affairs. And they also, together have been playing a good role and India has as I said, India has always been, has always had open doors to all peaceful initiatives.

WION: Do you feel... do you sense.. what's your assessment that will there be the Lebanon-Israeli escalation... given that the border is virtually on fire?

Dr Rabie Narsh: We hope not. As I said, we are... we have always been calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict. We have experienced war and we know what war means. We know the devastating repercussions of any war. It's not a cakewalk, and the Israeli side should know the same because it will impact not only Lebanon but all the regions and would affect Israel badly. So we hope and we are calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict and not to reach that point of direct conflict between Lebanon and Israel. Let's end with a hopeful note that the peace will prevail and this madness from the Israeli side will end.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE