UNIFIL denies relaying a message from "Israel" to Lebanon
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Reports that the Israeli security forces will fire at anyone who comes close to the blue line on the Lebanese side are “not true”, UNIFIL claims.
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The UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) denied claims of relaying a message from "Israel" to Lebanon regarding the blue line.
Reports about the Israeli security forces firing at anyone who comes close to the blue line on the Lebanese side are “not true”, UNIFIL said.
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday renewed the mandate of the UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon for one year, asking the UNIFIL to continue providing logistical support for the Lebanese army for another six months.
The UNIFIL has been in the Lebanese South since 1978 as a "buffer" between Lebanon and the Israeli occupation as the two parties are technically still in a state of war.
The Security Council decided, at the request of Beirut, to extend the 10,000-strong force's mandate until August 2023.
This is happening at a time when confrontation may be at the door between Lebanon and the Israeli occupation over the latter's threat to occupy the Karish gas field, and thus strip Lebanon of its own maritime territory and right. Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has vowed that the Lebanese Resistance will target the drilling platform in case a demarcation agreement with the Lebanese government is not reached in addition to enabling Lebanon to explore its own resources.
The resolution was adopted by the council's 15 members, who stressed in particulate the "risk that violations of the cessation of hostilities could lead to a new conflict that none of the parties or the region can afford."
The Israeli occupation is notorious for continuously sending drones violating Lebanese airspace, bugging the Lebanese people, and disturbing the silence of their nights for their reconnaissance operations.
The Israeli occupation also violates Lebanon's sovereignty by continuously using its airspace to launch aggression against Syria.
But the resolution stressed that the support was "temporary" and "should not be considered as a precedent... nor a long term solution."
Read more: Who benefits from UNIFIL's new amendments to its mission in Lebanon?
