Lebanese army shoots at Israeli jets

 

The Lebanese army on Monday opened fire on Israeli warplanes as they flew over the south of the country in violation of Lebanon”s airspace, police said.
 
“The army”s anti-aircraft units fired at four Israeli jets overflying the south on two occasions between 9:00 am

and 11:00 am (0700 and 0900 GMT),” a police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

 

He said none of the aircraft was hit.

 

Monday”s incident follows a weekend speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in which he taunted Israel

by boasting that his guerrilla group had the body parts of Israeli soldiers who died during the 2006 war in

Lebanon.

 

On several occasions in recent months, the Lebanese army has opened fire on Israeli jets flying low near the border area between the two countries.

 

Such overflights are a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought an end to the 34-day war between Israel and the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group in August 2006.

 

The United Nations has called on Israel to stop violating Lebanese airspace. It says the overflights undermine the credibility of UN peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon and compromise efforts to stabilise the region.