Post by maxell on Nov 23, 2006 22:15:51 GMT -5
French 'allowed to fire on Israeli planes'
BEIRUT: A week after Israel conducted the second of two series of mock air raids over French UNIFIL soldiers, France's contingent has been given permission to shoot at Israeli warplanes if the troops feel threatened, a high-ranking French military officer was reported as having said on Thursday.
A report in the Jerusalem Post said Thursday that the French contingent of UNIFIL would consider further aggressive flyovers a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
"There was a reality on the ground and it was important for us to reaffirm what we had seen and explain clearly what are the orders of the French soldiers to protect themselves," the French officer, who was not identified, was quoted as having said.
"No assurances were made to us that they [the Israeli Air Force] would stop [the flights]," the officer added. "The orders that the [French] soldiers have is that their weapons are for self-defense."
UNIFIL spokesperson Milos Strugar supported the French position, saying that according to Resolution 1701, the UN peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon had the right to use force in self-defense, even against Israeli aircraft.
Meanwhile, UN officials denied reports Thursday that Israel had trained peacekeepers to clear cluster bombs dropped across South Lebanon during the July-August war.
"Nobody from UNIFIL has been to Israel to receive de-mining training and none will ever be," said Chris Clarke, program manager for the UN's Mine Action Coordination Center in South Lebanon.
A Reuters report issued Wednesday night quoted Amit Tesler, commander of the Israeli Army's international training branch, as saying his unit trained an Italian contingent from the expanded UN force in September in clearing munitions.
A Spanish contingent was due to arrive next in Israel, Tesler told reporters in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday, adding that the requests for training had come from the Spanish and Italian governments.
Clarke explained that members of the Spanish contingent of UNIFIL had received training in Israel as part of a bilateral military training agreement between the two countries established before the month-long war began in July.
"To my knowledge, no members of the Italian contingent of UNIFIL have been trained in Israel," Clarke said. "No one of any contingent has been trained to de-mine in Israel."
Although every battalion is required to have de-mining training, the Chinese, French and Belgian contingents are primarily responsible for de-mining operations in South Lebanon, not Italy or Spain. The Italian and Spanish embassies were not available for comment.
Separate reports saying Italy, the largest member of UNIFIL, had stepped up security for its forces following the assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel were also disputed by UN officials in the South.
Deputy Defense Minister Lorenzo Forcieri told Parliament's Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday that security measures for Italian troops had been "intensified" in the wake of the attack, the ANSA news agency reported.
"We increased our level of attention during our normal work," the public information officer for the Italian contingent said, but denied increasing safety precautions for their troops.
Strugar said UNIFIL had "not taken special measures" after Tuesday's assassination and had no plans to do so.
The only apparent action taken was the delaying until today of an Al-Italia flight scheduled for a routine regiment rotation between Italian soldiers after the assassination.
The Italian government faced opposition pressure Wednesday to withdraw from the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon after Gemayel's assassination.
Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said he was "truly very worried" by the killing and urged the international community to do more to strengthen Lebanon's Western-backed government.
BEIRUT: A week after Israel conducted the second of two series of mock air raids over French UNIFIL soldiers, France's contingent has been given permission to shoot at Israeli warplanes if the troops feel threatened, a high-ranking French military officer was reported as having said on Thursday.
A report in the Jerusalem Post said Thursday that the French contingent of UNIFIL would consider further aggressive flyovers a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
"There was a reality on the ground and it was important for us to reaffirm what we had seen and explain clearly what are the orders of the French soldiers to protect themselves," the French officer, who was not identified, was quoted as having said.
"No assurances were made to us that they [the Israeli Air Force] would stop [the flights]," the officer added. "The orders that the [French] soldiers have is that their weapons are for self-defense."
UNIFIL spokesperson Milos Strugar supported the French position, saying that according to Resolution 1701, the UN peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon had the right to use force in self-defense, even against Israeli aircraft.
Meanwhile, UN officials denied reports Thursday that Israel had trained peacekeepers to clear cluster bombs dropped across South Lebanon during the July-August war.
"Nobody from UNIFIL has been to Israel to receive de-mining training and none will ever be," said Chris Clarke, program manager for the UN's Mine Action Coordination Center in South Lebanon.
A Reuters report issued Wednesday night quoted Amit Tesler, commander of the Israeli Army's international training branch, as saying his unit trained an Italian contingent from the expanded UN force in September in clearing munitions.
A Spanish contingent was due to arrive next in Israel, Tesler told reporters in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday, adding that the requests for training had come from the Spanish and Italian governments.
Clarke explained that members of the Spanish contingent of UNIFIL had received training in Israel as part of a bilateral military training agreement between the two countries established before the month-long war began in July.
"To my knowledge, no members of the Italian contingent of UNIFIL have been trained in Israel," Clarke said. "No one of any contingent has been trained to de-mine in Israel."
Although every battalion is required to have de-mining training, the Chinese, French and Belgian contingents are primarily responsible for de-mining operations in South Lebanon, not Italy or Spain. The Italian and Spanish embassies were not available for comment.
Separate reports saying Italy, the largest member of UNIFIL, had stepped up security for its forces following the assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel were also disputed by UN officials in the South.
Deputy Defense Minister Lorenzo Forcieri told Parliament's Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday that security measures for Italian troops had been "intensified" in the wake of the attack, the ANSA news agency reported.
"We increased our level of attention during our normal work," the public information officer for the Italian contingent said, but denied increasing safety precautions for their troops.
Strugar said UNIFIL had "not taken special measures" after Tuesday's assassination and had no plans to do so.
The only apparent action taken was the delaying until today of an Al-Italia flight scheduled for a routine regiment rotation between Italian soldiers after the assassination.
The Italian government faced opposition pressure Wednesday to withdraw from the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon after Gemayel's assassination.
Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said he was "truly very worried" by the killing and urged the international community to do more to strengthen Lebanon's Western-backed government.
