Lebanon tells UN of imminent Israeli attack

Malaysia News.Net
Saturday 31st October, 2009

Lebanon believes the Israeli army has it in its sights, and is preparing a major attack on its soil.

Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations has told the international body Israel is exhibiting signs of an imminent attack on his country.

The claim was published by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Hayyat on Friday.

Ambassador Noaf Salaam, says the report, has sent communiques to the UN Secretary-General Ban ki-moon, and to the Security Council condemning artillery fire by the Israeli military on the village of Houla, where a Katyusha rocket was fired from at the Upper Galilee last week.

Salaam described the artillery fire as "a clear violation of Lebanon's sovereignty as well as of UN Resolution 1701," which was the basis for a ceasefire after the Lebanon War of 2006.

According to Al-Hayyat, Salaam complained of threats by Israeli government officials which indicated the officials were planning an attack.

Salaam said the Israeli decision to bomb Lebanese territory after every Katyusha attack delayed and prevented Lebanese forces from investigating the rocket attacks. A small number of Katyusha rockets have been fired in recent weeks from inside Lebanon, however local militant groups, including Hezbollah, claim to have no knowledge of them.

Only nine rockets have been fired since the month-long war ended in 2006.

Lebanon held parliamentary elections in June but has been deadlocked since then over the formation of a national unity government

In another development Friday, it was learned that Israel has been trying to get the term of the current command of the UNIFIL forces in Lebanon extended for six months.

Local media in Israel reported Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly contacted Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to persuade him to keep Italy in charge of the United Nations force in Lebanon, rather than handing control to Spain as was planned.

Spain is said to be outraged over the fact the request by Israel was concealed. Israel's foreign ministry has tried to cool down the furore, saying there should be no interference by Israel in UNIFIL's affairs, as it would upset European countries taking part.

It was reported that Israel had sought an extension of the UNIFIL commander, Italy's General Claudio Graziano for 6 months due to "the sensitive period" Lebanon is currently undergoing.

A diplomat from Spain questioned this, asking "What does a 'sensitive period in Lebanon' mean? When isn't there tension in Lebanon? What kind of argument is this?"

Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak was due to visit Madrid next week, but on Friday abruptly cancelled his visit saying he was needed in Washington DC.

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