Israeli aircraft again violate Lebanon airspace despite UN 1701
Posted by tearsforlebanon on June 21, 2007
Beirut – Israeli warplanes made
low-altitude supersonic passes over southern Lebanon and the Bekaa
valley in the east on Thursday, police said, adding that they were the
most intense overflights this year.
The four aircraft, in defiance of a UN resolution, entered Lebanese
airspace at 11:00 am (0800 GMT), made low-altitude supersonic passes
over the southern port city of Tyre ,causing sonic booms according to
reporters at the scene.
They also overflew the western, central and eastern sectors of the
Lebanon-Israel border where peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim
Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are deployed, police said.
The planes flew as far north as Sidon, the main city in southern Lebanon 40 KM (25 miles) south of Beirut reporters said.
Strongholds of the Shiite Hezbollah movement at Nabatiyeh in the
south and at Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley 85 kilometres (50 miles)
northeast of the capital also saw low passes by the four planes.
The last serious airspace violation was on February 21, when the
Lebanese army responded with anti-aircraft fire on an Israeli drone
near Tyre on a day when fighter-bombers flew for two hours at low
altitude over various parts of the south.
Israel has drawn intense international criticism by continuing
over-flights after the August 14 ceasefire that ended last summer’s
34-day war against Hezbollah. These flights according to UN resolution
1701 are in violation of the ceasefire agreement.
The United Nations said such over-flights undermine UNIFIL’s credibility and compromise efforts to stabilize the region.
Former Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz said over-flights were
necessary to monitor what he called continuing arms smuggling by
Hezbollah.
Via: Yalibnan
