NNA – Minister of Culture Dr. Ghassan Salamé on Friday received Dutch Ambassador to Lebanon Frank Mollen at the National Museum, accompanied by the Director General of Antiquities, Engineer Sarkis Khoury, and a visiting Dutch diplomatic and parliamentary delegation currently in Lebanon to assess various local developments.

The meeting focused on the security situation, particularly in South Lebanon. Minister Salamé briefed the delegation on daily violations and ceasefire breaches by Israeli forces, including the continued occupation of five strategic points. He emphasized “the urgent need for international cooperation to exert pressure on Israel to vacate these occupied sites,” stressing that “the Lebanese Army is exerting maximum effort to extend its authority across all Lebanese territory, especially in the south, in accordance with the government’s approved plan, and is doing so with discipline and professionalism.”

Prior to the meeting, the delegation toured the National Museum, where North Mount Lebanon site officer Tania Zaven provided an in-depth explanation of the museum’s treasures, including Phoenician-era artifacts such as ceramics, jewelry, ivory, statues, and anthropoid marble sarcophagi dating back to the 4th century BC. The tour also featured votive statues from the Temple of Eshmun discovered in Bustan Al-Sheikh, also from the 4th century BC, among other historical pieces.

==========R.H.