The Lebanese authorities asked the Vatican on Tuesday for protection for its Christian communities in the border areas with Israel, after a Maronite Catholic priest died on Monday in an Israeli attack on the village of Qlayaa in southern Lebanon, reports EFE, taken over by Agerpres.
“We asked the Holy See to intervene and mediate to help preserve the Christian presence in these villages whose residents have always supported the Lebanese state, its international military institutions and have never abandoned this commitment,” Lebanese Foreign Minister Yusef Rayyi said in a statement.
This message was conveyed in a telephone conversation to the Vatican secretary for relations with states and international organizations, Paul Gallagher.
Paul Gallagher assured the head of the Lebanese diplomacy that he was carrying out “all” the necessary diplomatic contacts to stop the conflict and avoid new displacements.
The telephone conversation took place after the death, on Monday, of priest Pierre from Qlayaa, who was hit by a projectile fired by an Israeli tank and who will be buried on Wednesday in his predominantly Christian parish.
Several Christian localities in southern Lebanon, such as Marjayoun, Rmeish, Qlayaa and Alma al Shaab, refused to obey the evacuation orders issued by Israel, which since last week requires the population to leave the entire strip that stretches from the de facto border to the Litani River.
Most of the residents of Qlayaa remained in the village, according to confirmations obtained from them by EFE, while a partial evacuation was registered in Alma al Shaab on Tuesday, supported by the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (FINUL).
