Beirut, March 31 (QNA) -  Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassah has strongly railed at the remarks delivered by the Israeli Defense Minister on creating a security zone inside Lebanese soil.

These remarks are no longer threats but demonstrate an outright intent to impose a new occupation of Lebanese territories, Menassah warned in a statement Tuesday.

He emphasized that the intent is to displace hundreds of thousands of Lebanese citizens and inflict a methodical decimation of southern villages and towns.

Menassah stressed that Lebanon totally rejects these threats that flagrantly and unprecedentedly breach its sovereignty and territorial integrity and underestimate international law and resolutions of international legitimacy.

Any talks about banning the Lebanese from returning to their lands in the south amount to a "crime" that Lebanon would never accept, Menassah added.

He reemphasized that any attempt to either establish a security zone inside Lebanese territories or impose full control over the region up to the Litani River would telegraph insistence on assaulting the territory and national sovereignty.

This move would plunge the region into a perilous escalation whose consequences can't be predicted, Menassah cautioned.

The Minister called on the international community, particularly the UN and the permanent members of the Security Council, to end this unjustified silence and speak out.

Those permanent members should take a clear and resolute position that puts an end to these threats, Menassah stressed, noting that glossing over or hesitating to act on them is no longer acceptable and only emboldens further escalation.

Earlier today, the Israeli Defense Minister stated that Israel would establish a buffer zone inside southern Lebanon and maintain full control over the entire territory up to the Litani River. (QNA)