BEIRUT, 22 July 2004 — The United Nations yesterday called for restraint between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement and warned of the risk of escalating violence on the Lebanese-Israeli frontier after clashes in which three people died.
“As we have stated many times in the past, one violation (of the cease-fire there) does not justify another. Indeed, as we have seen, such actions lead to possible escalation which is clearly not in the interest of either party,” said Staffan de Mistura, the personal envoy in Lebanon of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Two Israeli soldiers and a Hezbollah militiaman were killed on Tuesday as air raids and gunbattles raged across the volatile Israel-Lebanon border. The UN is “seriously concerned at the negative turn of events over the last two days that has heightened tension considerably along the Blue Line and in Lebanon in general,” the envoy added in a statement.
The Blue Line was laid out by the UN to serve as the frontier between Israel and Lebanon after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon in May 2000. “We now call, again, on all parties to exercise maximum restrain to restore calm and to abide by the commitments to maintain such calm,” the statement added.
The Israeli Army was probing the killing of two of its soldiers yesterday as the senior officer for the northern command issued a warning to Syria if attacks continue.
As the funerals were being held for sergeants Itai Iluz and Avishai Kurisky, a military source confirmed that senior officers were investigating how the pair was allowed to come into the line of fire after being to be ordered to mount the roof of an outpost and fix an antenna.
“There is an investigation regarding the whole incident, which will be overseen by the most senior officers in the northern command,” a military source told AFP. Public radio quoted a senior officer as describing the incident as a “serious fiasco”, adding that neither of the soldiers was wearing bulletproof vests.
Gen. Benny Ganz, overall commander for the northern region, issued a warning to the Hezbollah supporters — Iran and Syria — that Israel was “fully prepared to confront any deterioration of the situation on the northern borders.” Ganz also threatened to direct “a painful strike against Syria” if Hezbollah continued its attacks.
Hezbollah proved this week it remains a painful thorn in Israel’s side, still capable of deadly cross-border attacks and helping the Palestinian uprising against the Jewish state.
Ganz described Hezbollah as a “powder keg” and also accused it of being involved in Palestinian operations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Hezbollah led a guerrilla war that was instrumental in leading to Israel’s May 2000 troop pullout from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation, with spectacular guerrilla attacks including suicide bombings. The group has vowed to continue “resistance” attacks until Israel evacuates the Shebaa Farms, captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War but claimed by Lebanon with the consent of Damascus.
