Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on the UN chief to remove peacekeepers deployed to southern Lebanon from “harm’s way”, saying Hezbollah was using them as “human shields”.
His call to UN chief Antonio Guterres came a day after the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) refused to withdraw from the border area after five of its members were injured in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
“Mr. Secretary-General, remove UNIFIL forces from harm’s way. This must be done now, immediately,” Netanyahu said in a video statement released by his office.
Speaking before a Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that Israeli forces had several times asked UNIFIL to leave, adding that the peacekeepers’ presence “had the effect of providing a human shield to Hezbollah terrorists”.
The Prime Minister said, “Your refusal to evacuate UNIFIL troops makes them hostages of Hezbollah. This threatens the lives of both them and our troops.”
“We regret the harm caused to UNIFIL troops and we are doing our best to prevent such harm. But the simplest and most obvious way to ensure this is simply to withdraw them from the danger zone.”
UNIFIL has refused to abandon its positions in southern Lebanon.
“The unanimous decision to stay was taken because it is important for the UN flag to still remain high in the region and to be able to report to the Security Council,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP in an interview on Saturday.
He said Israel had asked UNIFIL to withdraw from positions “to five kilometers (three miles) from the Blue Line” separating the two countries, but the peacekeepers refused.
This will include its 29 posts in southern Lebanon.
‘new chapter’
UNIFIL, a mission of approximately 9,500 soldiers of various nationalities, was created following Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1978.
It is currently tasked with monitoring the ceasefire that ended the 33-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
Forty countries contributing to UNIFIL said on Saturday they “strongly condemn the recent attacks” on peacekeepers.
“Such actions must stop immediately and be adequately investigated,” said the joint statement posted on X by the Polish UN mission and signed by countries including key contributors Indonesia, Italy and India.
On Sunday, UNIFIL said it had demanded an explanation from the Israeli military over what it said were “shocking violations” against their force, including the forced entry of one of their positions.
UNIFIL said that earlier on Sunday morning Israeli tanks had “destroyed” a UNIFIL position and “forcibly entered” there.
But the Israeli military said a tank hit a UN peacekeeping post when it came under fire during an incident that left several soldiers injured.
Late Sunday, the Israeli military said about 25 rockets and missiles had been launched at Israel in the past month from Hezbollah compounds “located near UNIFIL checkpoints” in southern Lebanon.
It said two Israeli soldiers were also killed in an attack, but did not say when the incident occurred.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned Israeli calls for UNIFIL to abandon the south.
“The warning addressed by Netanyahu … Guterres’ demand for the removal of UNIFIL represents a new chapter in the enemy’s approach of non-compliance with international norms,” Mikati said. Earlier, Netanyahu had said that criticism of Israel was wrong and should be directed at Hezbollah. He said, “Instead of criticizing Israel, they should direct their criticism toward Hezbollah, which uses UNIFIL as human shields.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
