Labanon to press UN on Israel breaches

Labanon to press UN on Israel breaches

2011/09/07

The Lebanese government has vowed to continue demanding the United Nations to put an end to Israel's constant violations of the Lebanese sovereignty, Press TV reports. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati made the remark during a Tuesday meeting with the commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Major General Alberto Asarta Cuevas. Mikati also emphasized on the constant cooperation between the Lebanese army and the UN's peacekeeping mission. He, however, insisted that the Lebanese Armed Forces need to be properly supplied with necessary equipment in order to be able to implement their duties, especially UN Security Council resolution 1701. UNIFIL commander Major General Cuevas described the UN Security Council's move to unanimously vote for the extension of the UNIFIL's mandate as a testament to the right course in cooperation and coordination between the force and Lebanon's army. Israel violates Lebanon's airspace on an almost daily basis, claiming that the overflights serve surveillance purposes. Lebanon's government, the Hezbollah resistance movement, and the UN peacekeepers have repeatedly cited Israel's air surveillance flights over Lebanon as clear violations of UN Resolution 1701 and the country's sovereignty. UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which brokered a ceasefire in the war Israel launched against Lebanon in 2006, calls on Tel Aviv to respect Beirut's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In 2009, Lebanon filed a complaint with the United Nations, presenting over 7,000 documents pertaining to Israeli violations of the Lebanese airspace and territory.