UN says Israeli tanks forced entry into base in south Lebanon

The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon says Israeli tanks forced their way into one of its positions early on Sunday morning.

In a statement, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said two Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks destroyed the main gate of a post in Ramyah, near the Israeli border, and "forcibly entered the position" to request it turn out its lights.

About two hours later, it said rounds were fired nearby that saw smoke enter the camp, causing 15 peacekeepers to suffer skin irritations and gastrointestinal reactions.

The IDF offered a different version of events, saying it had encroached on a Unifil position to evacuate soldiers who had been wounded by an anti-tank missile.

It said two soldiers had been "seriously injured" in the attack, with others suffering lesser degrees of injury.

"For the sake of evacuating the wounded, two tanks drove backwards, in a place where they could not advance otherwise in light of the threat of shooting, a few metres towards the Unifil position," the IDF said.

It added that during the incident, a shot was fired to aid the evacuation - and that it had "maintained continuous contact" with Unifil, stressing there was "no threat to the Unifil force from IDF activities".

The incident is the latest in a growing number of encounters between Unifil and Israeli forces.

Israel has repeatedly urged the peacekeeping force to withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon where fighting was taking place, after it began a ground incursion on 30 September targeting the armed group Hezbollah.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Unifil to "immediately" get its troops "out of harm's way" in a video statement issued by his office on Sunday, claiming that their presence in the region made them "hostages of Hezbollah".

Unifil has so far refused these requests.

Israel has faced international condemnation for previous instances in which Unifil troops have been injured in southern Lebanon - with the IDF admitting responsibility for firing toward UN posts in some cases.

Unifil said: "For the fourth time in as many days, we remind the IDF and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times."

It described the breach of its post in Ramyah as "a further flagrant violation of international law".

Unifil added that on Saturday Israeli troops had blocked them from carrying out a "critical" logistical movement near Meiss El Jebel, also near the border.

The IDF has yet to comment on that incident.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading near daily cross-border fire since last October, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel.

Nearly 10,000 peacekeepers from 50 countries are stationed in Lebanon, alongside around 800 civilian staff.

Since 1978, they have patrolled the area between the Litani River and the UN-recognised boundary between Lebanon and Israel known as the "Blue Line".

Israel has previously asked Unifil to withdraw north by 5km (3 miles).

Prior to Sunday's incidents, five peacekeepers had been injured in recent days.

On Saturday, Unifil said a soldier had been shot at its headquarters in the city of Naquora - though it did not know the origin of the bullet.

The day before, the IDF said its troops were responsible for an incident in which two Unifil troops from Sri Lanka were injured.

On Thursday, two Indonesian Unifil soldiers were injured falling from an observation tower after an Israeli tank fired towards it.

Those incidents prompted rebukes from several of Israel's allies, including France, Italy and Spain. A Downing Street spokesperson said the UK was "appalled".

In his comments on Sunday, Netanyahu said European leaders should direct their criticism towards Hezbollah, not Israel.

Israel argues that Unifil has failed to stabilise the region and prevent Hezbollah fighters from operating south of the Litani River - among the reasons for a UN presence there.

It has previously said that it was acting on a 2004 UN resolution calling for the disbanding of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militant groups, and that its request for peacekeepers to withdraw was so it could confront Hezbollah.

Netanyahu said these appeals had been "met with refusals", and that Unifil was providing a "human shield to Hezbollah terrorists".

"This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers," he added.

"We regret the injuring of Unifil soldiers and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injuring. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone."

Unifil officials have repeatedly refused to withdraw troops from the region.

The body's spokesman Andrea Tenenti told the AFP news agency on Saturday that there had been a "unanimous decision to stay because it's important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region".

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nijab Mikati condemned Netanyahu's position.

In a statement, he said the Israeli PM's comments represented "a new chapter in the enemy's approach of not complying with international legitimacy".

Mikati urged other nations "to take a firm position that stops the Israeli aggression".

Source: BBC