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Dhaka Tribune

Western leaders urge Israel to stop harming peacekeepers

  • US, France, Italy, Spain, and Ireland condemned the attacks as violations of international law
  • Five peacekeepers were wounded in two days, sparking global calls to end the violence
Update : 12 Oct 2024, 09:01 PM

Western leaders urged Israel Friday to stop harming UN peacekeepers in Lebanon after explosions wounded two of them near the country's border.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Saturday that unknown gunfire a day earlier hit a peacekeeper, the fifth wounded in south Lebanon near the Israeli border in just two days.

The Israeli military (IDF) said its forces on Friday fired at a threat near a UN peacekeeping mission position.

A spokeswoman for the UNIFIL mission said two Sri Lankan peacekeepers were hurt in the second such incident in two days.

Here is a roundup of reactions to Friday's incident:

Biden: Stop firing

US President Joe Biden told reporters he was "absolutely, positively" asking Israel to stop firing at UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

France: Deliberate

France's President Emmanuel Macron said it was "absolutely unacceptable" that peacekeepers were "deliberately targeted". The foreign ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador, saying the incident constituted "serious violations of international law and must cease immediately".

Italy: Unacceptable

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the firing, which she said violated a UN resolution, as "unacceptable." Italy has more than 1,000 troops in Lebanon.

Spain: End violence

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez demanded an "end to all violence" against UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. He called Friday's incident "absolutely unacceptable".

Ireland: Hostility

Ireland's foreign minister Micheal Martin called it a "shocking" and "unacceptable" development and "a very serious intensification of IDF hostility towards UN forces". Ireland has about 350 soldiers in UNIFIL.

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris on Saturday urged Israel to heed "the concerns of the international community" and not repeat recent firing on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

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