Lebanon says non-Lebanese elements behind rocket fire into Israel

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Sunday non-Lebanese elements were behind rocket fire into Israel.

On Thursday, some 37 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into Israel amid tension following Israeli police raids into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem.

There was no claim of responsibility for the rocket fire.

Israel retaliated to the rocket fire with air and artillery shelling on several targets inside Lebanon. No injuries were reported.

Mikati said initial investigations conducted by the Lebanese army found that "those who fired the rockets were not organized parties, but rather non-Lebanese elements," according to the National News Agency.

He, however, said that the rocket fire was "a reaction to the Israeli aggression on the Palestinian territories and the Gaza Strip."

"Lebanon absolutely rejects any military escalation from its land and the use of Lebanese territory to carry out operations that destabilize the existing tranquility,” Mikati added.

On Saturday, Lebanon filed a complaint with the UN Security Council against Israel’s violations of its territories.