BEIRUT: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday slammed attacks on United Nations peacekeepers as “unacceptable” after the UN force accused Israeli troops of firing at their positions in south Lebanon.
Meloni, the first head of state or government to visit Lebanon since an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah started last month, demanded the protection of the UNIFIL force, which includes Italian peacekeepers.
“I consider targeting UNIFIL unacceptable, and I ask once again that all parties strive to ensure at all times that the safety of each of these soldiers is guaranteed,” Meloni said during a press conference with her Lebanese counterpart Najib Mikati.
Italy has around 1,000 troops as part of the UN’s peacekeeping force in Lebanon which has come under repeated fire in the Israeli-Hezbollah war in recent days.
Five peacekeepers were injured in a series of incidents last week, with the latest seeing the UN force accuse Israeli troops of breaking through a gate and entering one of their positions.
UNIFIL on Sunday asked for explanations from the Israeli army over what they said were “shocking violations” against their force, including forced entry.
“I am convinced that UNIFIL must be strengthened. Only by strengthening UNIFIL while maintaining its impartiality, will we be able to turn the page” on the war, Meloni said.
UNIFIL, a mission of about 10,000 troops of various nationalities, was set up in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon and to help the Lebanese government restore authority over the border region.
It is also tasked with monitoring a ceasefire that ended a 33-day war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Iran.
“I think that we have to come back to the initial mission of UNIFIL, and to do it properly, in coordination with” the Lebanese army, Meloni said.
“There must be no other military presence than that of UNIFIL” and the Lebanese army in border areas, she added.
Meloni — whose country holds the rotating presidency of the G7 this year — earlier Friday met with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Aqaba.
They discussed the escalating conflict in the region and joint efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, according to Rome.
The Italian premier said Thursday that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar cleared the way for a “new phase” in the Gaza war, which was sparked by the militant group’s deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Italian PM says ‘unacceptable’ to target UN peacekeepers in Lebanon
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Italian PM says ‘unacceptable’ to target UN peacekeepers in Lebanon
- “I am convinced that UNIFIL must be strengthened. Only by strengthening UNIFIL while maintaining its impartiality, will we be able to turn the page” on the war, Meloni said
- “There must be no other military presence than that of UNIFIL” and the Lebanese army in border areas
US lawmakers press Israel to probe strike on reporters in Lebanon
- “The IDF has made no effort, none, to seriously investigate this incident,” Welch said
- Collins called for Washington to publicly acknowledge the attack in which an American citizen was injured
WASHINGTON: Several Democratic lawmakers called Thursday for the Israeli and US governments to fully investigate a deadly 2023 attack by the Israeli military on journalists in southern Lebanon.
The October 13, 2023 airstrike killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and wounded six other reporters, including two from AFP — video journalist Dylan Collins and photographer Christina Assi, who lost her leg.
“We expect the Israeli government to conduct an investigation that meets the international standards and to hold accountable those people who did this,” Senator Peter Welch told a news conference, with Collins by his side.
The lawmaker from Collins’s home state of Vermont said he had been pushing for answers for two years, first from the administration of Democratic president Joe Biden and now from the Republican White House of Donald Trump.
The Israeli government has “stonewalled at every single turn,” Welch added.
“With the Israeli government, we have been extremely patient, and we have done everything we reasonably can to obtain answers and accountability,” he said.
“The IDF has made no effort, none, to seriously investigate this incident,” Welch said, referring to the Israeli military, adding that it has told his office its investigation into the incident is closed.
Collins called for Washington to publicly acknowledge the attack in which an American citizen was injured.
“But I’d also like them to put pressure on their greatest ally in the Middle East, the Israeli government, to bring the perpetrators to account,” he said, echoing the lawmakers who called the attack a “war crime.”
“We’re not letting it go,” Vermont congresswoman Becca Balint said. “It doesn’t matter how long they stonewall us.”
AFP conducted an independent investigation which concluded that two Israeli 120mm tank shells were fired from the Jordeikh area in Israel.
The findings were corroborated by other international probes, including investigations conducted by Reuters, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders.
Unlike Welch’s assertion Thursday that the Israeli probe was over, the IDF told AFP in October that “findings regarding the event have not yet been concluded.”
