July 7, 2010 - The Daily Star - Israeli commander warns tensions on Lebanon border likely to flare in September

BEIRUT: Commander of the Israeli Army Gabi Ashkenazi said on Tuesday that while the situation of the border with Lebanon was currently calm, it was likely to escalate in September in light of tensions between Hizbullah and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), several media reports said Tuesday.


“Despite the current calm on Israel’s northern border, there is a struggle between Hizbullah and UNIFIL in Lebanon’s South,” Israeli Ynet website quoted Ashkenazi as saying.


On Saturday, a UNIFIL patrol belonging to the French contingent was attacked by southern residents in Qabrikha village, with residents commandeering a soldier’s weapons and wounding the company leader.


UNIFIL reinforcements and Lebanese Army personnel intervened, with the Lebanese Army recovering UNIFIL weapons from the civilians and restoring calm in the area.


The attack was the second of its kind in less than a week, after villagers from Khirbet Silim threw stones at a UNIFIL patrol, injuring two French peacekeepers last week, following large-scale capacity-testing exercises by the force.



He said he expected tensions to rise in September because the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was expected to issue its progress report on probes into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri.


He added that efforts should be exerted to ensure no more flotillas set sail for the besieged Gaza Strip.


“A Lebanese flotilla with women and Parliament members is now getting organized. Israel and the Israeli Army are trying to prevent its departure in open and covert ways. We sent a message to the Lebanese government that it will be held accountable for the flotilla and its consequences,” the Ynet website quoted Ashkenazi.


On Tuesday, Al-Akhbar daily, which is close to Hizbullah, carried a report saying that while Israel had the intention to launch a war against Lebanon, it was still “logistically and practically” incapable of doing so. – The Daily Star