UN chief asks Israel and Lebanon 'to exercise utmost restraint', maintain calm on border

As the dangerous armed conflict escalated between Israel and Lebanon with the militant group- Hezbollah, launching a barrage of rockets towards Israel, and Israel firing back with artillery, the United Nations (UN) chief on Sunday called on all parties “to exercise utmost restraint” and turn to the restoration of peace on the Lebanon-Israel border.

"The secretary-general expresses his deep concern about the recent escalation between Lebanon and Israel across the Blue Line, including rocket fire into Israel and return airstrikes and artillery fire into Lebanon," UN’s Antonio Guterres’ press office stated in a note to correspondents. 

Blue Line is the border demarcation agreed between Lebanon and Israel as published by the United Nations on 7 June 2000, that determines whether Israel has fully withdrawn from Lebanon. Israel has also created a “Security Belt” that separates its northern border towns from terror factions in Lebanon including Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command.

As the Lebanon-Israel aggression escalated, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, warned earlier last week that the escalating hostilities over the past two days between Lebanese and Israeli forces were setting off “a very dangerous situation” in the volatile border region.  

UN chief Guterres on Sunday asked the two countries to “actively engage with the liaison and coordination mechanisms of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.” In the statement released by the UN press office, the UN chief stated, "It is paramount that all actors involved avoid actions that can further heighten tensions and lead to miscalculation.”

[Israeli forces fire artillery from their position on the border with Lebanon after a barrage of rockets were fired from Lebanon. Credit: AP]

Peace mission UNIFIL reiterated that nearly 11,000 strong UN force was created by the Security Council in 1978, initially to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security, and help the Lebanese Government restore its authority. It stressed, that the purpose of deployment of the UN forces was to bring years of civil conflict to rest. Major General Stefano Del Col, Head of the UN Interform Force (UNIFIL), called on both sides to “immediately stand down and desist from any further aggression.” 

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon asks to 'preserve security and stability

The global peace agency on Sunday informed that it was “actively engaging” with the parties through all formal and informal liaisons and coordination mechanisms. “We are coordinating with the Lebanese Armed Forces to strengthen security measures throughout the area of operations”, it said, adding that the two Mideast nations must “ceasefire and maintain calm” so that an investigation can be launched.

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, expressed great concern over the exchange of fire and rockets between Lebanon and Israel as she warned of “serious consequences,” all the while asking both sides to respect Resolution 1701, and to “preserve security and stability.”

Israel slams UN chief

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan yesterday lambasted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres over his statement about "maintaining calm" as tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border heightened. Israel on Sunday accused the UN chief of "turning a blind eye to Hezbollah’s war crimes and acts of terror.” Erdan in his statement reminded the UN that Iran-backed Hezbollah fired 19 missiles towards Israel's urban towns in the north, which it said, was the heaviest barrage since the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Times of Israel reported. 

Erdan called the UN chief's remarks "unfortunate" as he stressed that the UN Secretary-General "repeatedly chooses to draw a moral equivalency between attacks perpetuated by designated terrorist organizations and the law-abiding, democratic State of Israel, which is a member of the UN.”