Lebanon asks UN to pressure Israel to stop sovereignty violations

By Wassim Seif El-Din

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AA) – Lebanon on Friday called on the UN to pressure Israel to stop violating its sovereignty.

In a statement, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab urged the UN to ask Israel to respect the UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and halt its violations of Lebanese sovereignty at a time when military tensions on the country's border with Israel have been escalating.

Diab stressed "the need to stop the repeated Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty."

The resolution, adopted in August 2006, calls for a cessation of all hostilities between Lebanon and Israel. It came after confrontation between the two sides in July the same year.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri described the escalation as "very dangerous and an unprecedented threat to Resolution 1701."

"Using the (country's) south as a platform for regional conflicts with uncalculated results and repercussions is a step into the unknown that puts all of Lebanon in the crosshairs of the wars of others on its land," he said in reference to Iranian-Israeli tensions.

On Wednesday, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Facebook that warplanes raided the areas from where rockets were allegedly launched from Lebanon, besides targeting some infrastructure used for "terrorist" purposes.

He warned that "the raids will continue and may escalate in the face of terrorist attempts to target Israel," blaming Lebanon for what is happening inside its territory.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese army announced that Israel bombed several areas in southern Lebanon, which led to a fire in the town of Rachaya Al Foukhar.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon had called for a cease-fire and maximum restraint to avoid further escalation on the border between Lebanon and Israel.

Hezbollah, however, has now claimed responsibility of firing rockets toward northern Israel.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara