(Jerusalem Post) Yaakov Katz - The bombing of a UNIFIL convoy in southern Lebanon on Tuesday was likely aimed at sending a message to the peacekeeping force to scale back its operations against Hizbullah, Israeli defense officials said on Wednesday. According to UNIFIL's current rules of engagement, the force is not allowed to enter Lebanese villages to search for Hizbullah arms caches unless it coordinates the operation with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). Israel has been lobbying countries which contribute to UNIFIL - particularly Spain, Italy and France - to get the UN to issue new rules of engagement that will enable UNIFIL to search Lebanese villages without prior coordination with the LAF.
2011-07-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive