Lebanon: Force to follow failed diplomacy

PARIS, July 13 (UPI) -- If Israel fails to give control of certain lands to Lebanon through diplomatic means, Lebanon will use force, Lebanese President Michel Sueleiman says.

Sueleiman said after meeting Syrian President Bashar Assad in Paris Sunday that his country was prepared to use force to take control of the Middle Eastern lands if diplomacy with Israel on the matter fails, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The Lebanese official, who was attending the ongoing Mediterranean conference in the French capital, stressed that such military action would only be used as a last resort.

Meanwhile, Lebanese armed forces deployed in the Shaba Farms/Mount Dov area of the Golan Heights, the focus of the territorial dispute.

Israel has maintained the Mount Dov mountainous region should belong to Syria, while Hezbollah officials have argued Lebanon is the true owner.

The dispute has yet to be resolved by Syria and Lebanon, while Israel has opposed a proposal of having the lands be controlled by the United Nations until the dispute can be adequately resolved, the Post said.