Israel would lose in war, says Lebanon's president

Israel would lose if war broke out between it and Lebanon, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Thursday.

While ruling out possible war between his country and Israel, Aoun said that all of Lebanon's citizens would be ready to fight if a conflict broke out.

"I do not think there will be war with Israel, because Israel would not win such a war," Aoun told Kuwait's Al-Rai newspaper.

"All Lebanese are ready to resist. All the Lebanese are prepared to fight against Israel. Yes, we are a small country, but we have reestablished our national unity, and part of that is a united opposition to anyone who attacks our country," he added.

Aoun's remarks come amid heightened tensions between Israel and its neighbouring countries, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accusing Iran of having set up weapons factories in Syria and Lebanon.

Netanyahu, who has traded threats of all-out war with Lebanon's Hizballah group, has in recent months turned much attention to the situation in Syria.

Hizballah, along with Israel's arch-rival Iran, has supported the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and established a presence in the war-torn country.

This is not the first time this year, however, that Aoun has made threatening remarks towards Israel. In February, the Lebanese president said that violations of Lebanese sovereignty would be met with an "appropriate response".

He also called on Arab states to protect Jerusalem from Israel's alleged attempts to "Judaize Palestine," amid rising tensions concerning Israeli infringements on Muslim and Christian holy sites in the city.