Beirut, Dec 26 (IANS) The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Thursday that any actions threatening the fragile cessation of hostilities in Lebanon must stop.
“Both Israel and Lebanon have confirmed their commitment to the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and to addressing outstanding issues. Both parties are called upon to utilize the newly established mechanism as agreed in the understanding,” UNIFIL said in a statement.
UNIFIL urges the Israeli army to withdraw on time and the Lebanese Armed Forces to deploy in southern Lebanon as per the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
The UN peace mission stressed it is working closely with the Lebanese army to accelerate its recruiting efforts and deployment to the south.
The mission said it stands ready to play its part in “monitoring progress, including ensuring the area south of the Litani River is free of any armed personnel, assets, or weapons other than those of the Lebanese government and UNIFIL, as well as respect for the Blue Line.”
It expressed concern over “the continued destruction by the Israeli military of residential areas, agricultural land, and road networks in southern Lebanon, which constitutes a violation of Resolution 1701.”
Earlier in the day, UNIFIL informed the Lebanese army that Israeli forces had kidnapped a Lebanese citizen who was shot while passing through Wadi al-Hujayr on his way to his duty station at the UNIFIL center in Aadshit al-Qusayr.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency indicated that Israeli vehicles advanced through Wadi al-Hujayr in southern Lebanon, conducting combing operations with heavy machine guns.
A ceasefire, meant to halt nearly 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, came into effect on Nov. 27. The agreement stipulated an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory within 60 days, with the Lebanese army deploying on the border and in the south to assume security control and ban weapons and militants.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has conducted intermittent strikes in Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah militants it accuses of violating the agreement.
–IANS
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