UN Asks Israel to Stop Violating Lebanese Airspace

Israeli warplanes flew over large parts of Lebanon on Thursday, the Lebanese Army said, prompting the United Nations to again urge the Jewish state to stop sending its military aircraft over this Arab country in breach of the UN-drawn Lebanese-Israeli border.

Three Israeli fighter jets flew for about 45 minutes over areas in eastern and southern Lebanon, Mount Lebanon and Beirut before returning to Israel at 12:05 p.m. (1005 GMT), a Lebanese Army statement said. It was unclear if Lebanese military forces fired on the jets.

A Lebanese army spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 13 Israeli warplanes have violated Lebanese airspace in the past three days.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the reports.

The United Nations expressed "deep concern" over the repeated Israeli air violations of the Blue Line, a reference to the Lebanese-Israeli border drawn by the world body following Israel's troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

A "large number" of Israeli aerial violations of the Blue Line took place Wednesday, said a statement issued in Beirut by UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, the personal representative of the UN secretary general for southern Lebanon.

The statement reiterated the United Nations' call on Israel "to halt these violations of the Blue Line and reminds all parties that one violation cannot justify another."

Since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon, Israeli planes have frequently violated Lebanese airspace on reconnaissance missions, drawing anti-aircraft fire from the Lebanese army and anti-Israeli Hezbollah guerrillas.

In response to repeated Israeli air violations, Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim group backed by Iran and Syria, on Nov. 7 sent its first unmanned reconnaissance drone into Israeli territory, flying over Jewish towns.

ASSOCIATED PRESS