Foreign Ministry to U.N.: Israel Shouldn”t Unilaterally Deal with Any Incident on the Blue Line
The Lebanese foreign ministry told U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon that Israel should coordinate with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon over any future incident on the Blue Line rather than taking a unilateral action.
In a letter sent to Ban on Monday, the ministry said Israel”s shelling of south Lebanon following the firing of rockets into the Jewish state on Friday was in "violation of Lebanese sovereignty and Security Council Resolution 1701" that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah.
The letter added that "any incident should not be dealt with unilaterally under the pretext of self defense."
The ministry”s letter came in reaction to a complaint filed by Israel to Ban and the Security Council presidency. Israel”s envoy to the U.N. Gabriela Shalev said that the firing of rockets from southern Lebanon was "another example of the presence of munitions and terror activity south of the Litani River in direct violation" of resolution 1701.
Israel held the Lebanese government responsible and said Beirut wasn”t doing enough to prevent the presence of armed groups and weapons south of the Litani River, as outlined in the resolution.
The Lebanese foreign ministry”s letter said the country was committed to the implementation of 1701 and was investigation with UNIFIL to find the culprits behind the rocket attack.