LEBANON: ISRAELI TROOPS FIRE OVER THE HEADS OF U.N. PEACEKEEPERS AT ABBASIYEH BORDER GATE

Record ID: 350022

  • Title: LEBANON: ISRAELI TROOPS FIRE OVER THE HEADS OF U.N. PEACEKEEPERS AT ABBASIYEH BORDER GATE
  • Date: 15th June 2000
  • Summary: ABBASIYEH, LEBANON (JUNE 15, 2000) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. SV: UNITED NATIONS (U.N.) VEHICLES ARRIVING AT ABBASIYEH BORDER GATE 0.06 2. TRACK: LEBANESE AND U.N. OFFICERS ARRIVING AT THE BORDER 0.09 3. SV: OFFICERS MARCHING TOWARDS THE GATE 0.13 4. SV: MAN TRYING TO FORCE THE GATE OPEN 0.16 5. VARIOUS: MAN TRYING TO OPEN TH
  • Embargoed: 30th June 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ABBASIYEH, LEBANON
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Reuters ID: LVA9RCP3DS0HLLD6K9PXJXIC1MH1
  • Story Text: Shots from Israeli troops have been fired over the
    heads of United Nations cartographers working to verify the
    Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon. Lebanon says it shows
    Israel has not completed the pullout from occupied territory.



    Israeli troops fired over the heads of U.N.

    peacekeepers at the Lebanese border on Thursday (June 15),
    forcing a suspension of efforts to verify Israel's withdrawal,
    a U.N. official said.

    Shots were fired from the Israeli side as cartographers
    from Lebanon and the United Nations checked the
    Lebanese-Israeli border at an area facing the Israeli
    settlement of Misgav Am. The rifle shots were fired over the
    heads of the U.N. and Lebanese missions at Abbassiyeh Gate,
    Timor Goksel, spokesman of the U.N. peacekeeping force UNIFIL
    told Reuters.

    Lebanese Brigadier Amin Hutaiti confirmed his comments.

    "The verification team was subject to gun fire from an
    Israeli location inside the Lebanese border. The head of the
    Lebanese team and the head of the U.N. team put the mission on
    hold."
    "The Lebanese officer will notify the president of the
    Repulic and the U.N. Officer will notify Mr. (Kofi) Annan
    (U.N. Secretary General), each one will now return to the
    headquarters." Hutait said.

    Goskel said UNIFIL had contacted the Israeli army to seek
    clarification of the shooting.

    "The Israeli side told us that they are aware of what
    happened and they are investigating the matter with the troops
    who were involved in the incident," Goksel said.

    Lebanon says a 1923 border map, adopted by the United
    Nations as the international border between the two countries,
    clearly shows part of Mesgav Am inside Lebanon.

    Witnesses said four shots were fired into the air and one
    into the ground 30 feet (10 metres) from the delegations as
    Lebanese experts tried to open Abbassiyeh Gate and
    accompanying journalists crossed the border fence.

    The head of the Lebanese team Brigadier Amin Hutait said
    after the incident that work would remain suspended until the
    United Nation resolved the issue.

    Hutait said it was the first time the team had come under
    fire, saying Israel had lied and had not pulled out (fully)
    from Lebanon and continued to occupy Lebanese land.

    The U.N. team was to have completed work on the border
    within hours, allowing Annan to declare that Israel had
    withdrawn its troops from Lebanon in accordance to Security
    Council Resolution 425.

    The process has been delayed by differences, mainly
    between the United Nations and Lebanon, which has disputed the
    U.N. line in several places, one of which is at Abbassiyeh.

    Once the Israeli withdrawal has been confirmed, the
    4,500-member UNIFIL is expected to be strengthened to enable
    it to help restore Beirut's authority over the area.

    The Lebanese government was expected to meet later on
    Thursday to declare that it would send 500 soldiers and 500
    police to the border area after UNIFIL redeploys.

    Hizbollah guerrillas backed by Iran and Syria, whose
    attacks on Israeli troops were a key factor in persuading
    Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon, hold sway over much
    of the region in the absence of a strong Lebanese government
    presence.

    After confirmation of Israel's withdrawal, Annan is
    planning to visit a number of Middle East countries to discuss
    efforts to ensure peace on the Israel-Lebanon border and
    throughout the region.

    According to a reliable source in New York, he was
    tentatively scheduled to fly from New York to Paris on
    Thursday and then travel to Casablanca, Tehran, Cairo, Beirut,
    Amman, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Beirut and Damascus, spending
    about a day in each city.

    jrc/SR

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