United Nations, Sep 21 (IANS) The UN Security Council held an emergency session following an increase in cross-border firing between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in Lebanon and deadly wireless device explosions targeting members of the terror group.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacekeeping Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said on Friday that violence has been occurring every day on the border between Lebanon and Israel for almost a year, which is very worrying, news agency Xinhua reported.
“The firing from both sides is a repeated violation of the ceasefire instructions. This is a violation of Security Council Resolution 1701,” he said.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said, “Through this terrorist attack, Israel has violated the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. Innocent civilians have been targeted in this attack.”
The Foreign Minister asked, “Isn’t it terrorism to attack innocent people when they are busy going about their daily lives and are not fighting on the front?”
On behalf of the Arab group, Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Kousse Aldahhak, has said that the recent devastating attacks have been carried out without regard for international law or humanity. He said that the Arab group demands the Security Council to condemn this cyber terrorism and Israel’s attacks against the Palestinian people in Gaza and attacks on other countries including Syria.
The Permanent Representative of Syria said Syria condemns the aggression and ongoing terrorism against the Lebanese people.
Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said his country did not want war. He said that on October 8, while Israeli civilians in the south were being “slaughtered” by Hamas, Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets at civilians in the north.
He said since then more than 8,000 rockets have “rained” on Israel, killing 46 people and wounding 294 others. Danon said Israel’s aim is to “restore security on our northern borders” and “bring our people back home.”
“We are deeply concerned by the escalation of tensions along the Blue Line, including the deadly attack in Beirut today,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said at the daily briefing.
–IANS
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