PM Salam: Decisions of war and peace must rest solely with the state

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Lebanon’s south must not be left to bear the consequences of conflicts and decisions made elsewhere, stressing that the state alone should have the authority to decide on matters of war and peace.

In a post on X marking the eve of the anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr, Salam recalled Sadr’s efforts to champion the cause of southern Lebanon and his warnings against allowing the region to become an arena for wider conflicts.

Salam said Sadr had rejected a reality in which people in the south bore the burden of confrontation and war while decisions were made elsewhere. He also recalled Sadr’s vision of a sovereign Lebanon whose state and institutions were capable of protecting its people.

Salam pledged that the south would not be left alone and that its residents would not again be made to pay the price for the conflicts and decisions of others.

“Our commitment is for the people of the south to remain on their land, for those displaced to return safely and with dignity to their homes and villages, and for the south not to remain an open arena for wars that neither the Lebanese people nor their state decide,” Salam said.

He stressed that the state must maintain an effective presence in the south through the Lebanese Army, its institutions, public services and development efforts, while holding sole authority over decisions of war and peace.

Salam also said the government has a responsibility to work toward ending the Israeli occupation and attacks, rebuilding areas that have been destroyed, ensuring the return of residents to their villages and extending state sovereignty across all Lebanese territory.

“Lebanon’s sovereignty cannot be complete as long as part of its territory remains occupied or violated, nor can it be complete unless decisions of war and peace rest solely with the state,” Salam said.

He concluded by recalling Sadr’s vision of a south that would never be abandoned and a Lebanon that would never abandon the state, describing that goal as both a responsibility and a commitment.