A negotiated solution is the only pathway to restore the security and stability that civilians on both sides of the Blue Line in Lebanon so desperately want and deserve, and the time to act accordingly is now, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said in a Joint Statement with Head of Mission and Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lazaro. The statement said that one year has passed since near-daily exchanges of fire commenced across the Blue Line, a year in which "far too many lives have been lost, uprooted, and devastated, while civilians on both sides of the Blue Line are left wanting for security and stability. One year in which our repeated appeals for restraint, the protection of civilians and adherence to international humanitarian law, a return to the cessation of hostilities, and a political process anchored in the implementation of 1701 have gone unheeded." "Today, one year later, the near-daily exchanges of fire have escalated into a relentless military campaign whose humanitarian impact is nothing short of catastrophic. With constant Israeli bombardment now part and parcel of daily life in Lebanon," the statement said. "To state the obvious: every missile or rocket launched, bomb dropped, and ground raid conducted pulls the parties further away from the vision set forth in resolution 1701 (2006), as well as from the conditions necessary for the enduring security of civilians on both sides of the Blue Line. What is also clear is that further violence and destruction will neither solve the underlying issues nor make anyone safer in the long run. Quite the opposite. A negotiated solution is the only pathway to restore the security and stability that civilians on both sides so desperately want and deserve," the statement added. Source: Qatar News Agency