UNITED NATIONS, Oct 21 : The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has said that an Israeli army bulldozer demolished an observation tower and the perimeter fence of a UN position on Sunday in Marwahin, a town in the southern part of the country.
A press statement issued by the Mission, formally known as the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, said Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) “deliberately demolished” the watchtower and the fence surrounding the Marwahin site.
“Yet again, we remind the IDF and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times,” UNIFIL stated.
The mission also reiterated that the violation of a UN site and damage to its assets constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and Security Council resolution 1701, the unanimously adopted text to end to a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and chart a path towards security on the border between Israel and Lebanon.
The statement went on to note that the Israeli army has repeatedly asked UNIFIL to vacate its positions along the Blue Line and has deliberately damaged UN positions.
Despite the pressure on the mission and troop-contributing countries, UNIFIL stressed that peacekeepers remain in all their positions, the mission’s statement said on Sunday.
“We will continue to carry out our mandated tasks of monitoring and reporting,” the statement concluded.
Sunday’s developments come after a series of worrying incidents in the past days in which a total of five peacekeepers have been injured.
Just four days ago, UNIFIL issued a statement saying peacekeepers at a position near Kafer Kela had observed an IDF Merkava tank firing at their watchtower.
Two cameras were destroyed, and the tower was damaged, it said.
“Yet again we see direct and apparently deliberate fire on a UNIFIL position,” the mission stated at the time.
In addition, last Sunday, 13 October, 15 peacekeepers suffered from “smoke effects”, after the IDF fired several rounds some 100 metres from their position, which had been deliberately breached around two hours earlier the same day.
Several UN positions have been damaged, and cameras and lights destroyed.
Top UN officials, including the Secretary-General voiced concern over the situation, reiterating that safety and security of UN personnel and property “must be guaranteed” and that the inviolability of UN premises “must be respected at all times without qualification”.
He also warned that attacks against peacekeepers contravene international law and may constitute war crimes.
Elsewhere in besieged Gaza, the United Nations renewed its call for an end to the war in the Strip, emphasizing the urgent need for the release of hostages, the cessation of the displacement of Palestinians, and the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.
In a statement released on Sunday night by the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, the UN expressed deep concern, stating, “The nightmare in Gaza is intensifying. Horrifying scenes are unfolding in the northern Strip amidst conflict, relentless Israeli strikes and an ever-worsening humanitarian crisis.
“In Beit Lahia, dozens were reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes. This follows weeks of intensified operations resulting in scores of civilian fatalities and near total lack of humanitarian aid reaching populations in the north.”
“Nowhere is safe in Gaza,” Wennesland lamented.
Wennesland condemned the continued attacks on civilians and reiterated the importance of ending the war and releasing hostages, adding that “the displacement of Palestinians must cease, and civilians must be protected wherever they are”.
“Humanitarian aid must be delivered unimpeded,” he stressed. “The path ahead will require courage, political will and renewed dialogue. We owe it to the families suffering in Gaza and Israel. The war must stop now.”
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