The soldiers of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, Unifil, are staying where they are.
This is what Unifil boss Jean Pierre Lacroix says on Monday.
His statement comes after five UN soldiers were wounded last week in southern Lebanon.
Earlier on Monday, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called again for the UN soldiers to withdraw from the area close to the border in southern Lebanon.
But that is not going to happen, says Lacroix.
The plan to remain in the positions in Lebanon was also announced earlier on Monday by UN Secretary General António Guterres.
Unifil announced on Thursday that an Israeli tank had fired at a guard tower near the town of Naqoura.
This led to two UN soldiers falling from the tower and being slightly injured.
Only on Friday, two more people were injured when shots were fired at their observation post at Naquora.
And on Friday evening, another UN soldier was wounded by gunfire. It is currently unknown who fired shots at the soldier.
Israel has faced harsh criticism after the soldiers were injured.
Netanyahu has denied that Israeli soldiers intentionally fired at the UNIFIL soldiers.
The UN peacekeeping mission has been stationed in Lebanon since Israel’s first major ground offensive against the neighboring country in 1978.
– A decision has been made that Unifil will remain in all positions for now. This is despite the calls that have come from Israel’s military to leave the positions near the blue line, says Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
The “Blue Line” is a demarcation line established by the United Nations between Israel and Lebanon.
On Monday evening, the UN Security Council unanimously asks the parties to take into account the safety of the UN soldiers.
The Council recalls that UN peacekeeping forces and UN facilities must never be the target of attack.
/ritzau/AFP
Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk
