BEIRUT: Prime Minister Najib Mikati paid tribute Saturday to the Lebanese Army, people and resistance during his first trip to the south since his Cabinet was voted in earlier this month.

Mikati also praised the efforts of U.N. peacekeepers in the south and said the government was committed to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.

“[My message] is one of support to the citizens and people that have stood to confront the Israeli enemy. It is also one of support for our brave Lebanese Army … and the resistance that defends with bravery on its land,” Mikati said in Adeyyseh, the southern border village which saw deadly clashes between the Lebanese and Israeli armies in 2010.

“I wanted my first visit to be to the south …. especially after the government won a vote of confidence and the Cabinet held its first meeting, [the south] - this precious part of Lebanon that is dear to us all,” Mikati said, adding that his visit coincided with two key events: the commemoration of the 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel and the renewal of the U.N. peacekeeping mandate in the south.

Mikati, who was accompanied by Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn and Lebanese Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwaji, was flown in by the Lebanese Army by helicopter amid heightened security.

After visiting an army barracks in Marjayoun, Mikati headed then to Adeysseh, where he saluted the efforts of the Lebanese Army and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and vowed to help the area with education, social programs and job opportunities.

He also said stability in the south was linked to that of the region and stressed to need to implement resolutions that would secure the rights of Palestinians.

“Stability in south Lebanon is key to stability in the Middle East, which will not see a return of security except through a just and comprehensive peace that [in turn depends] on the implementation of international resolutions that protect the rights of the Palestinians to decide their destiny and return to their land and the establishment of their independent state,” Mikati said, according to the National News Agency (NNA).

Loyalty to the Resistance MP Ali Fayyad, speaking on the sidelines of the visit, said he believed Mikati’s visit aimed to highlight “the strong will in confronting the Israeli enemy on the basis of the successes of the resistance during the July[-August] 2006 war and according to the equation that we adhere to day by day of the … army, people and resistance.”

Mikati added that: “Victory has many elements and perhaps the main one would be the return of the Lebanese Army to the south all the way to the border after years of absence ... the land is back in the hands of the army. The other side of victory would be the expansion of the international forces' presence."

Mikati also visited the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, where he reviewed a Guard of Honor presented by the U.N. peacekeepers.

The prime minister commended the role that the U.N. troops played in maintaining the peace in the south and said his government was committed to UNSCR 1701.

“My government is committed to the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701,” Mikati said, referring to the resolution that ended the 2006 war and called for a halt to border violations. Resolution 1701 also extended UNIFIL’s mandate and called on Lebanon to extend control over its territories.

He also called on the United Nations to stop Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

“The government, which affirmed its commitment to [United Nations Security] resolution 1701, will continue to ask the U.N. to stop Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and completely implement the resolution in order to move from a stage of non-aggression to a stage of permanent cease-fire,” Mikati said, according to the NNA.

Mikati, who was received by UNIFIL commander Maj. Gen. Alberto Cuevas Asarta, was given an operations briefing on UNIFIL and discussed with Asarta the activities undertaken by the peacekeepers in collaboration with the Lebanese Army.

“Your presence here today, so soon after taking office, in and of itself constitutes a strong statement of support for our mission. I have no doubt that this will greatly encourage UNIFIL peacekeepers as well as our strategic partners in the Lebanese Army to further build on the steady gains in the security situation over the past almost five years since the cessation of hostilities came into effect,” Asarta said, according to a statement released by UNIFIL. -- Additional reporting by Mohammed Zaatari.