BEIRUT, Aug 17 (NNN-NNA) – Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, yesterday urged Lebanon and Israel, to engage in talks, to avoid incidents along the Blue Line.
“UNIFIL chief appealed for engagement in Blue Line talks, to address outstanding issues,” a UNIFIL statement quoted Lazaro Saenz as saying, during a tripartite meeting with senior officers from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), at a UN position in Ras al-Naqoura in southern Lebanon.
At the meeting, Lazaro Saenz expressed his concern over rising tensions on the Lebanese-Israeli border and called on relevant parties to seek UNIFIL support to solve conflicts.
“UNIFIL chief urged the parties to continue to avail of UNIFIL’s liaison and coordination mechanisms, while avoiding unilateral actions,” the statement read.
The Blue Line, established by the United Nations in 2000, spans 120 kilometres and serves to verify the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. It is a temporary demarcation line until the two countries officially establish their land borders.
Tensions along the Lebanese-Israeli border have been growing since last month, when the Israeli side deployed bulldozers to install cement blocks and barbed wires, and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, erected two tents that Israel claimed were built on its territory.
Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006, that ended in a UN-sponsored cease-fire.– NNN-NNA
