BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry called on Monday for Israel to coordinate with UN peacekeeping troops before reacting to any future Blue Line security breach. In a letter submitted to UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon in the wake of Friday’s exchange of rocket fire between Lebanon and Israel, the ministry labeled the attacks a “violation of Lebanese sovereignty and Security Council Resolution 1701” and criticized the Israeli Army for responding to provocation without first consulting UNIFIL troops in the region.

The letter also stated that “any incident should not be dealt with unilaterally under the pretext of self defense,” in reference to the estimated dozen artillery shells Israel responded with on Friday. No casualties were reported from either side in the wake of the incident, thought to be the third of its kind this year.

Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh told The Daily Star that the rocket attacks were a clear violation of Resolution 1701, “which we fully support.”

He said that Israel should communicate more with UNIFIL troop commanders near the Blue Line – UN monitored boundary of Israeli military withdrawal from Lebanon – in order to avoid further escalation.
“We condemn these attacks and we condemn the retaliation by Israel. They should have consulted UNIFIL before retaliating,” he said.

“Israel should stop its violations [of 1701],” Salloukh added, saying that its continuous violations near the Blue Line needed to cease.

Former long-term UNIFIL adviser Timur Goksel was skeptical as to the efficacy of such requests, as something asked for by Lebanon is unlikely to be granted by Israel.

“It’s good to put such claims on the record,” Goksel told The Daily Star. “They [Israel] protest to the UN and this is a kind of coordination. But response to violence requires firmer actions.

“Hopefully it works but I very much doubt that it will,” he added.

The Foreign Ministry’s letter came two days after Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gabriela Shalev, submitted a letter to the Security Council, complaining about the rockets launched from south Lebanon.

On Sunday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he was holding the Leba­nese government accountable for the incident and warned that Israel would respond to any future provocation.

“We will not hold back when Israeli territory comes under fire,” Netanyahu told his Cabinet in a weekly address.

Israel also accused Lebanon of “turning a blind-eye” to what it claims to be the continuous flow of weapons to Hizbullah from Iran and Syria. Hizbullah was quick to deny any involvement in Friday’s exchange of fire.
Responsibility for Friday’s attack was claimed on Monday by a group alleged to be linked to Al-Qaeda.
“Your brothers fired two Katuysha rockets from south Lebanon which landed in the Naharia settlement in the north of occupied Palestine,” said a statement from the little-known militant cell, the “Battalions of Ziad Jarrah.”

The statement, reported on the intelligence website SITE, referenced Israel’s blockade of Gaza and its refusal to allow worshippers to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem as motivation behind the attack.

It added the two rockets were fired in response to “flagrant hostility” displayed by Israel against Palestinians and Muslims across the region.

Goksel said that the statement issued over the weekend by UNIFIL spokesman Milos Strugar – in which he suggested that investigations into the rocket attacks “are focusing on the extremist groups that might be linked to refugee camps” – was a significant development.

“This time UNIFIL made an interesting statement, pointing the finger in the direction of the Palestinian camps,” he said.

He, however, doubted the legitimacy of Monday’s claims.

“It’s the same as you or me claiming responsibility,” he said. “It’s probably a small group which is trying to put itself on the map, putting themselves forward because they are always accused of not doing anything for Palestine.
“They are certainly not a very organized military operation,” Goksel said.

In July, the group claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks on Israel at the beginning of 2009 in a video featuring footage of two masked men assembling and preparing missiles to fire from what was purported to be south Lebanon. Credibility for the claims has so far proved impossible to ascertain, as little is known about the size and weapons capacity – if any – of the outfit.

A group using the same moniker claimed it carried out the bombings at the Egyptian tourist resort of Sharm El-Sheikh in 2005.

Israeli mlitary fires on lebanese fishing boat

BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army Command issued a statement on Monday saying the Israeli military fired on Sunday from their position in the Lebanese border town of Naqoura on a Lebanese fisherman’s boat inside Lebanese territorial waters.

According to the statement, the Israeli act was a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which put an end to the summer 2006 war with Israel. – The Daily Star.