Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly asked United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres this Sunday, withdrawal of UN peacekeeping positions on the Lebanese border, UNIFIL, whose members have become, according to them, in “human shields” for Hezbollah militias, which also endanger the Israeli army operating in the country.
“It is time to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and combat zones,” Netanyahu said in an official statement to the UN Secretary-General after an extremely tense week during which at least five peacekeepers were injured in incidents that the United Nations attributed to the Israeli army in its operation against Hezbollah.
Last Thursday, UNIFIL announced that two of its soldiers had been injured by the impact of an Israeli projectile. on its installations in Naqoura, where the headquarters is located, after, in the last hours, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reached several positions of this international contingent.
The next day, another Israeli attack injured two more peacekeepers and a third was hit at night by gunfire from an unknown source. Concerning the first event, the Israeli army admitted “opened fire in the area” before ensuring that he had opened an investigation into this matter and insisting again that UNIFIL withdraw from its positions.
Israel forced the door of one of the positions
Likewise, UNIFIL accused the Israeli army this Sunday of put his soldiers in danger after three platoons Israeli troops crossed the Blue Line and once again violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. Israel admitted that one of its tanks attacked the UN mission base on Sunday.
“An initial examination showed that an army tank, which was trying to evacuate wounded soldiers while still under fire, rolled back several meters towards a UNIFIL post. During the incident , the army posed no danger to the UN forces,” the Israeli army reported.
“Early this morningpeacekeepers stationed at a UN position in Ramyah observed three platoons of IDF soldiers crossing the Blue Line into Lebanon. Around 4:30 p.m. local time, while the peacekeepers were in shelters, two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the main gate from the position and entered it by force,” the mission reported in a statement.
According to the memo, Israeli soldiers They repeatedly asked the base to turn off its lights and the tanks left about 45 minutes later.after UNIFIL protested through the liaison mechanism, claiming that “the IDF presence endangers peacekeepers.” Following this incident, “around 6:40 a.m., peacekeepers who were in the same position reported several shots fired 100 meters to the north, which released smoke.”
“Despite wearing protective masks, the quince troops suffered effects, notably skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions, after smoke entered the camp,” UNIFIL said, adding that the troops were being treated.
UNIFIL denounces deliberate attacks
This is something that the UN force has categorically refused to do while much of the international community, starting with allies like the United States, asked Israelthat stop deliberately endangering peacekeepers.
In fact, the chief of staff of the Irish Defense Forces, which has some 340 soldiers serving with UNIFIL, went so far as to claim that one of Friday’s attacks, carried out against an observation tower, was intentional..
“An observation tower with a tank shell directly inside it, which is a very small target, This must be very deliberate and it’s a direct shoteither. From a military point of view, this is therefore not an accidental act. “This is a direct act,” Lieutenant General Sean Clancy told RTÉ television.
This is why the Israeli Prime Minister regrets the “constant refusals” of UNIFIL which, according to him, “aim only to provide human shields to Hezbollah terrorists”. “His refusal to withdraw UNIFIL forces This turns its members into hostages of Hezbollah and also endangers the lives of our soldiers,” Netanyahu stressed in the statement.
