http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/2 00610/INT20061020b.html
Israel Defends Spy Flights Over Lebanon By Julie Stahl CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief October 20, 2006 Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Israel on Friday defended its ongoing intelligence-gathering flights over Lebanon, one day after head of the United Nations' peacekeeping force said that anti-aircraft missiles could be used to shoot down Israeli aircraft. Israel said it's easier for the United Nations to blame the Jewish State than to deal with the issue of weapons smuggling into Lebanon. The U.N. calls the Israeli flights over Lebanon a violation of U.N. resolution 1701 that brought about an end to the Israeli-Hizballah war in Lebanon. The resolution also mandated an expanded U.N. peacekeeping force to help the Lebanese army take control of southern Lebanon. On Thursday, Alain Pellegrini, commander of the U.N. Interim Force In Lebanon, said his troops would consider shooting down Israeli aircraft flying over Lebanon. The violations were "a major concern...not to be accepted", he said, and added that while the U.N. was currently using diplomatic means to try to stop the flights, "other ways" might be used in the future, including force. French troops, which are leading the peacekeeping contingent in Lebanon, are armed with anti-aircraft missiles that are to be used in self-defense, he told reporters at a news conference in New York. If UNIFIL positions were attacked, they would "respond with these missiles," he said. U.N. spokesman Stefan Dujarric quickly responded to the statement, saying the U.N. had no intention of firing at Israeli aircraft. The anti-aircraft batteries were set up for self-dense only, he said. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said on Friday that deployment of anti-aircraft batteries in southern Lebanon was "simply ridiculous" and that the onus was on Lebanon to fulfill its part of the U.N. resolution. "The reason Israel is forced to continue with intelligence flights over Lebanon is precisely because the Lebanese side is failing to implement [U.N. resolution 1701]," said Regev by telephone. The U.N. resolution calls for an international arms embargo to prevent the illicit arms transfers to Hizballah. No armed Hizballah members are allowed south of the Lebanese Litani River; and the resolution calls for the return of Israel's two abducted soldiers, Regev said. (Hizballah abducted the two soldiers in a cross-border attack in July and unleashed a massive rocket attack on northern Israeli communities, sparking the Israeli invasion of Southern Lebanon.) Nearly three weeks ago, Israel completed the withdrawal of its forces from Lebanon; but Lebanon is not preventing the transfer of weapons to Hizballah, as it is supposed to do, Regev said. UNIFIL is not deployed along the Syrian-Lebanese border to implement the arms embargo. Syria and Iran are trying to smuggle weapons to Hizballah and no one is monitoring that. In the absence of a mechanism on the ground, Israel is continuing to monitor the situation from the air, Regev said. "Why is everyone pointing the finger at Israel? The onus is on the Lebanese government," said Regev. "Too often in the U.N. bureaucracy it's easier to blame Israel than to deal with Iran [smuggling weapons]." One of Israel's main concerns about the deployment of international peacekeepers in Lebanon -- or elsewhere for that matter -- is that terrorists could carry out attacks with virtual impunity by taking cover behind international troops. Some critics of resolution 1701 have said a worse-case scenario for Israel would be to find itself in a showdown with French or other international peacekeeping troops. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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