Asia-Pacific

UN: Israeli soldiers in Israel during Lebanon clash

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-08-04 22:24

BEIRUT - The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon determined on Wednesday Israeli soldiers were operating inside Israel at the onset of deadly border clashes with Lebanese troops that have raised fears of wider conflict.

A day after a senior Israeli officer, two Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist were killed in a rare skirmish between the Israeli and Lebanese armies, Israel appeared keen to show it would not be deterred from operating in the area.

Related readings:  Israeli military uprooting trees on Lebanon border  Israel warns Lebanon over border clash  Israeli army officer killed in border clash with Lebanon  Israeli, Lebanese soldiers exchange fire on border

The Israeli army moved a crane back into the now-quiet but still tense frontier zone with Lebanon to complete the tree-pruning mission that had drawn Lebanese fire and led to the most serious violence along the frontier since a 2006 war.

Hezbollah, which stayed out of the fighting, vowed to cut off Israel's hand if it attacked the Lebanese Army.

In a diplomatic boost for Israel, the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Israeli soldiers were inside Israeli territory when the border clashes erupted.

"UNIFIL established ... that the trees being cut by the Israeli army are located south of the Blue Line on the Israeli side," said a statement quoting UNIFIL military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Naresh Bhatt.

"The UN position is that the Blue Line must be respected in its entirety by all parties."

Bhatt was referring to a border line drawn by the United Nations between Israel and Lebanon after an Israeli military withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.