Lebanese president: Stand up to Israel
Michel Suleiman vows to stand up to Israel 'at any price,' says Israel violated UN resolution
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman has vowed to "stand up to Israel's violation of Resolution 1701, whatever the price" following the border flare-up between the Lebanese and Israeli armies Tuesday.
Two Lebanese soldiers were killed and four were wounded after the IDF struck a post near the southern Lebanese border village of Adaisseh, witnesses and security sources said. An Israeli helicopter fired two missiles at a Lebanese army post near Adaisseh, destroying an armoured personnel carrier, a Lebanese security source said.
A Lebanese journalist was also killed in the skirmish, local sources said.
However, Israel's Foreign Ministry said it "holds the Lebanese government responsible for the serious incident and warns against repercussions should such violations continue."
"Israel views the attack on an IDF force that operated in coordination with UNIFIL in the border area in recent hours a blatant violation of Security Council Resolution 1701," the Foreign Ministry said in a mission.
Meanwhile, Israel's UN mission plans to file a complaint on the matter with the organization's chief and with the Security Council.
IDF, Hezbollah exchange threats
Israel marked four years to the Second Lebanon War last month as tensions grew on the northern border amid fears that Hezbollah may seek to prompt a regional flare-up.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague's plan to indict senior Hezbollah officials over the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has caused growing concern among local leaders this may prompt the Shiite group to respond with violence in order to undermine stability in the region.
About three weeks ago, the IDF published photos of Hezbollah's massive military buildup in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel. Aerial photos of an area village showed sites where, according to the army, Hezbollah had been accumulating various weapons.
Colonel Ronen Merli, commander of the Western Division on the northern border, said at the time that given Hezbollah's preparations, "an incident may take place today or in a year. I'm prepared for this to happen by surprise without being told about it."
"We're operating in various ways in order to thwart any incident, and if one does take place, we'll know how to handle it," he said.
Later, Hezbollah responded to Israel's charges, with a senior group figure warning that "the enemy's leadership should know that we too have a target bank."
"They know well that all their threats shall go down in the face of the surprises prepared by the resistance," he said.
Roni Sofer and Reuters contributed to the story
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