Eyal Lehman
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Sunday accused Israel of blatantly violating United Nations Resolution 1701, following a mysterious detonation of alleged Israeli spy devices placed on the Israel-Lebanon border.
Siniora also said that drones were spotted in Lebanese airspace at the time of the detonations – another violation of the resolution.
Earlier, a Lebanese military spokesperson claimed that two cables were remotely detonated by the Israeli military. A third cable was destroyed by the Lebanese army.
"Both explosions seem to have been triggered by Israel in order to destroy devices it had planted in the sector a long time ago. Israel feared the devices would be discovered and decided to destroy them," she said.
The Lebanese army also reported firing at the drone, saying the unmanned aircraft was "in range."
Earlier still, Hezbollah claimed that it was the one to uncovered the cables, saying Israel used them to tap its communications near the town of Houla in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah's commander in south Lebanon, Nabil Kaouk said that "Israel's repeated threats and violations prove it is a danger to Lebanon."
Speaking at the town of Aita al-Shaab, he added: "The 6,000 violations of international decision and Lebanon's sovereignty by Israel have yet to prompt the UN Security Council to call even one meeting. Lebanon's term in the Security Council will allow it to thwart Israel's violations before they become a matter of fact."
Meanwhile, the UNIFIL peacekeeping force began investigating the incident, saying initial findings indicated the detonations were triggered by underground sensor devices, apparently planted during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
"These do look like some sort of espionage device," Michael Williams, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, said.
Eyal Lehman
Posts
