Paris, March 31 (IANS) French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot strongly condemned Israel over what he called “serious incidents” against the French contingent serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the Naqoura area.
These violations of security and acts of intimidation by Israeli soldiers against UN personnel are “unacceptable and unjustifiable,” especially since deconfliction procedures are followed, Barrot said on social platform X, adding that France has conveyed its strong condemnation to the Israeli ambassador in Paris.
Barrot also condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the shootings that killed an Indonesian UNIFIL peacekeeper and wounded three others on Sunday, as well as an explosion that killed two Indonesian peacekeepers and injured two more on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Following the extremely serious incidents suffered by UNIFIL peacekeepers, I have requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council,” he said.
Barrot also called on all parties to respect UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and to ensure that the safety of UN personnel is respected and guaranteed, noting that UNIFIL must be able to fully implement its mandate and exercise its full freedom of movement.
Though UNIFIL hasn’t pointed to Israel as the exact “origin of the projectile,” saying that an investigation had been launched into the attacks, Lebanon’s National News Agency and local media reports said that Israeli artillery shelling targeted the headquarters of the Indonesian unit serving with UNIFIL on Sunday.
On Monday, Indonesia confirmed the UNIFIL casualties and also reiterated its condemnation of Israel’s military actions in southern Lebanon. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday strongly condemned the incident, describing the attacks as grave violations of international humanitarian law and of Security Council Resolution 1701.
Cross-border fighting has continued along the Lebanon-Israel border since March 2, when Hezbollah launched rockets toward Israel for the first time since a ceasefire agreed on November 27, 2024, triggering intensified Israeli airstrikes across southern and eastern Lebanon.
–IANS
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