Lebanese and Israeli troops exchanged fire on the border Tuesday in the most serious clashes since a fierce war four years ago, and Lebanon said at least three of its soldiers and a journalist were killed in shelling. The violence apparently erupted over a move by Israeli soldiers to trim some hedges along the border, a sign of the level of tensions at the frontier where Israel fought a war in 2006 with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Harari, father of four, was killed by sniper fire directed at his post. The other officer at the post was captain Ezra Lakia, who was seriously wounded. The two were situated some 300 meters from the border within Israel in a position to oversee the trimming of the bushes along the border fence. Israel Defense Forces GOC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot announced Tuesday that the two Israeli officers had been very seriously hit during the exchange of fire. Eizenkot said that the incident had been a "deliberate ambush." Eizenkot told Israeli media that "a routine operation was carried out during the afternoon near Misgav Am – an operation whose purpose was to trim some bushes near the border, in our [Israeli] territory. It was on both sides of the border but still within [Israeli] territory. Officers oversaw the operation from a permanent position. Sniper fire was directed at the officers, and two of them were wounded as a result." The GOC Northern Command stressed that "this was a pre-planned event, aggression by the Lebanese army who shot at soldiers inside Israeli territory without any provocation. We view this as a very severe incident." Captain Lakia is a company commander, and a resident of Kfar HaRif. Northern Command Head Major-General Gadi Eizenkut said the commanders were hurt in a sniper ambush and said: “It is our understanding that this was a planned provocation by the Lebanese Army that fired at a force that was inside Israeli territory without any provocation on our part.” IDF sources said the IDF force was carrying out routine maintenance work when the Lebanese snipers opened fire, intentionally aiming at its commanders. Later on in the incident, Lebanese soldiers fired four rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) at an IDF tank, but missed their mark. The IDF fired at the soldiers and may have hit them. Israel has blamed the Lebanese army for violating the United Nations ceasefire resolution and firing on IDF troops in Israeli territory, drawing a retaliation that killed three Lebanese soldiers and a civilian. Several other Lebanese were wounded. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it holds the Lebanese government responsible for what it called a “grave incident” when the Lebanese army fired on the IDF while its troops were patrolling within the Blue Line that the UN has marked out as the international boundary. Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman has instructed the Israeli diplomatic delegation to the United Nations to file a protest with the UN Secretary General and the Security Council. In a statement to media, he said that the IDF “was operating along the Lebanese border in coordination with UNIFIL.” The Foreign Ministry added that the Lebanese fire was a severe violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day-old Second Lebanon War four summers ago. Lebanon claimed that the Israelis were operating in its territory and were trying to uproot a tree that blocked a lookout on a Lebanese village. Lebanon also alleged its soldiers fired warning shots at the IDF, which allegedly responded with rocket-propelled grenades and tank fire. Military spokesmen said that after the Lebanese army fired at Israeli soldiers, the IDF “immediately returned fire with light arms and made use of artillery fire. Several minutes later an Israel Air Force helicopter fired at the Lebanese army battalion command center, damaging several LAF armored combat vehicles.” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi arrived at the border, where quiet has returned, but Lebanese Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri condemned what he called “Israeli aggression.” Assad was quoted by the official Syrian news agency as having said that the "Israeli aggression proves once again that Israel is making every effort to shake the stability in the region." "The United Nations and the international community must condemn and prevent the Israeli aggression," Assad was quoted as saying. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman condemned the Israeli fire, declaring that Lebanon will have to respond "at any cost to the victims." Suleiman added that Israel Defense Forces had infiltrated Lebanese territory – in violation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri also came out against the day's events, condemning "Israel's violation of Lebanese sovereignty." His office reported that he had contacted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss retaliatory options for the "Israeli aggression against Lebanon's army." Israel's Foreign Ministry said it would file a complaint with the UN over the clash, accusing Beirut of violating the 2006 Security Council resolution that ended the war. "Israel views the Lebanese government as responsible for this serious incident and is warning of the ramifications if the violations continue," the ministry said in a statement. UN peacekeepers appealed to both sides to exercise "maximum restraint" after the incident. Three Lebanese soldiers and one Lebanese journalist were killed Tuesday when Israeli soldiers exchanged fire with Lebanese soldiers at the border. The Israeli military said its troops were fired upon while engaged in "routine activity" inside Israeli territory, between an Israeli security fence and a United Nations drawn border line. An Israeli helicopter fired two missiles at a Lebanese army post near Adaisseh village, destroying an armored personnel carrier. A security source said three Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist were killed and five people wounded. Witnesses said Israeli artillery was also fired at the village. The spokesman made his remarks hours after an Israeli officer, three Lebanese soldiers and a journalist were killed in an exchange of fire between Israeli and Lebanese soldiers at the border. Another Israeli officer was seriously hurt in the clash. The rare cross-border skirmish represented the most serious violence along the frontier since a 2006 war. A second Israeli officer was seriously wounded, but was considered in stable condition. Crowley said the United States was in touch with both governments. "We are trying to understand what happened ... Our greatest concern is that whatever did happen not be repeated. The region has enough tension as it is. The last thing that we want to see is this incident expanding into something more significant." "We deeply regret the loss of life. We urge both sides to exercise maximum restraint to avoid an escalation and maintain the ceasefire that is now in place," he added. Earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Israel Defense Forces to firmly respond to any future Lebanese fire. The prime minister said after the incident that "Israel views the attack on IDF soldiers with extreme severity. This is a blatant violation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701 (which ended the 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah in southern Lebanon). I see the Lebanese government as directly responsible for this violent provocation against Israel." "Israel responded, and will continue to respond in the future to any attempt to spoil the calm along the border and to harm the residents of Israel's north and the soldiers protecting them," Netanyahu added. Defense Minister Ehud Barak also issued a statement, offering his condolences to the families of the Israeli casualties. Barak warned the Lebanese government to refrain from "further provocation" - referring to recent incidents in which the Lebanese army provoked Israeli forces at the border - and demanded that Lebanon launch an investigation into what he termed "a murderous act of terror." The defense minister called upon UN peacekeepers in the region to fulfill their duty and take resolute action to prevent similar events, and to investigate this specific event. Barak also said that he expected the international community to condemn the incident. "The IDF will continue to protect Israel's residents and its sovereign borders. Israel seeks peace – we proved it when we withdrew our troops in 2006 to beyond the international line. However, Israel will not tolerate any attack on its soldiers or its citizens within its sovereign territory," he said. The exchange of fire began when Israeli soldiers approached the border in order to trim some bushes that had grown along the fence. The operation had been coordinated in advance with UNIFIL, which in turn informed the Lebanese army. As in previous cases of such Israeli activity, the Lebanese army deployed soldiers to the area. After a round of yelling, unanswered by the Israeli troops, Lebanese snipers opened deliberate fire at the IDF observation post several hundred meters into Israel, the IDF said. Harari and Lakia had manned the observation post, and both sustained serious gunfire wounds. According to information gathered by the IDF, the sniper fire was ordered by a commanding officer within the Lebanese army. The IDF has found no indication that the officer received an order to open fire, and believe that the decision was his alone. However, it is known that the particular officer was influenced by inciting remarks against Israel made by the top commanders of the Lebanese army in the recent past. Following Israel's harsh response to the sniper fire, which included tank and artillery fire as well as the bombing from the air of Lebanese army posts, killing at least two Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and President Michel Suleiman asked international bodies to impose an immediate cease-fire. The remarks came in a speech marking four years since the end of a war between Hezbollah and Israel in southern Lebanon, but mere hours after an exchange of fire between Israeli and Lebanese soldiers along the border left one Israeli officer and at least two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist dead. Another Israeli officer was seriously wounded in the confrontation. "I say honestly, that in any place where the Lebanese army will be assaulted and there's a presence for the resistance, and it is capable, the resistance will not stand silent, or quiet or restrained," Nasrallah told tens of thousands of supporters via video link. Addressing the 2006 Second Lebanon War, which ended in an United Nations Security Council resolution enacting a cease-fire, the Hezbollah leader said "Israel's aggression against Lebanon has not stopped, and what happened today only proves that. Since the cease-fire and until today Israel has blatantly violated [the UN Security Council resolution] more than 7,000 times, and no one has lifted a finger, not even the security council." Nasrallah praised the Lebanese army, which fired at an Israeli observation post earlier in the day killing one officer and seriously wounding another, saying "the Lebanese army did what it was asked to do, and that is to sacrifice soldiers. Even the Lebanese media sacrificed one of its own." He explained that Hezbollah was on highest alert during the incident. "I was personally in contact with the [Hezbollah] commanders in the area, and I asked them not to act before receiving a direct order. We announced that we would not initiate any activity as long as we did not receive authorization from the highest command of the Lebanese army. We contacted the army's commander and explained that we were ready to take action if they ask us to. We did what was needed in order to protect our sacred land," Nasrallah said. The Hezbollah chief argued that he had displayed "extreme restraint" and refrained from taking action during the incident, for several reasons: "First, the army was overseeing the battle. Second, we didn't know where the situation could deteriorate to and third, we didn't want to be blamed for escalating tensions over the international tribunal on the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. We didn't want anyone to think we were motivated by Iranian or Syrian interests to spark conflict in the region." "We were on high alert, but we took Lebanon's interests into account, so as to not play into the hands of people with agendas. But in the future, I say this clearly, if Israel raises its arm against the Lebanese army, we will make sure to cut off that arm and we will respond accordingly," he added. According to Nasrallah, more than one million field mines and cluster bombs have been left behind in southern Lebanon by the Israeli military during the 2006 confrontation. "Despite four years of intensive operations, 200,000 bombs and mines have been neutralized so far. It will take enormous effort to complete the task," Nasrallah said.
3 Lebanese soldiers, one journalist killed as Israeli and Lebanese soldiers exchange fire at border; second Israeli officer seriously wounded.
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
Israeli officer killed in clash on Israel-Lebanon border
August 3, 2010
One Israeli officer was killed during clashes between Israel and the Lebanese army along the border on Tuesday. 45-year-old Lt. Col. Dov Harari, from Netanya, was a reserves battalion commander in the engineering corps.
Another Israeli officer sustained severe wounds and has been admitted to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. He is in stable condition.
IDF Lt.-Col. Killed, another Officer Badly Hurt in North
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu and Gil Ronen August 3, 2010 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138924
IDF Lt.-Col. (res.) Dan Harari, a battalion commander, was killed Tuesday, and Captain (res.) Ezra Lakia was badly hurt in the exchange of fire between Lebanon Army and IDF forces early Tuesday afternoon. Lt. Col. Harari's funeral will take place at 4:00 P.M. Wednesday in the military plot of the Netanya Cemetery.
Assad: We'll support Lebanon in face of criminal Israeli aggression
UN peacekeepers urge 'maximum restraint' after Israeli and Lebanese soldiers exchange fire along border, killing 4 Lebanese.
August 3, 2010 http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/assad-we-ll-support-lebanon-in-face-of-criminal-israeli-aggression-1.305771
Tuesday's deadly exchange of fire between Israel and the Lebanese army along Israel's northern border sparked outrage among Arab leaders. Syrian President Bashar Assad said hours after the confrontation that Syria will stand by Lebanon "in the face of Israel's criminal aggression."
U.S. urges Israel and Lebanon to exercise 'maximum restraint'
Netanyahu blames Lebanon for 'violent provocation against Israel' after Israeli officer, 4 Lebanese killed in rare border skirmish.
By Natasha Mozgovaya and Barak Ravid August 3, 2010
The United States is "extremely concerned" about violence on the border between Israel and Lebanon, and urges both sides to exercise "maximum restraint," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said on Tuesday.
IDF believes single Lebanese officer behind border shooting
Lebanese company commander ordered sniper fire on Israeli post, which killed one Israeli officer and wounded another, IDF analysts believe.
By Anshel Pfeffer August 3, 2010 http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-believes-single-lebanese-officer-behind-border-shooting-1.305828
Israel Defense Forces analysts believe that the Lebanese sniper fire at the Israel-Lebanon border on Tuesday, which killed Lt. Col. Dov Harari and seriously wounded Captain Ezra Lakia, was in fact an ambush planned by a Lebanese officer who was encouraged by his commanders.
Nasrallah: Hezbollah will respond if Israel attacks Lebanon's army
By Jack Khoury August 3, 2010 http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/nasrallah-hezbollah-will-respond-if-israel-attacks-lebanon-s-army-1.305825
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, said Tuesday that his organization would not stand silent if Israel attacked the Lebanese army in the future.
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