U.S. Urges Restraint after Shebaa Attack, Security Council Holds Urgent Meeting
The United States on Wednesday condemned Hizbullah's deadly operation in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms as an "act of violence," urging all parties to refrain from actions that could escalate the situation, as France requested an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said that Washington did not want "an escalation of the situation."
"We support Israel's legitimate right to self defense and have been clear about our concerns over the regional instability caused by the crisis in Syria,” she told reporters.
"We call upon all parties to avoid any action that would jeopardize the long-held ceasefire between Israel and Syria and abide by the 1974 disengagement of forces agreement," Psaki added.
She also urged all parties to respect the U.N.-demarcated Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon.
The U.N. Security Council met around midnight in an emergency session to discuss ways to defuse tensions.
"Our objective is to engage toward de-escalation and to prevent further escalation of the situation," French Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters as he went into the meeting.
France was to present a draft statement to council members urging restraint.
The council was meeting behind closed doors to hear a report from a senior peacekeeping official overseeing UNIFIL operations.
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations told the Security Council in a letter that Israel will take all necessary measures to defend itself in response to the Hizbullah attack.
"Israel will not stand by as Hizbullah targets Israelis," wrote Ron Prosor in the letter also sent to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The Israeli envoy demanded that the council condemn Hizbullah and take steps to press Lebanon to disarm Hizbullah as outlined in U.N. resolutions.
Meanwhile, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini appealed for an "immediate cessation of hostilities" on the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven others wounded in Hizbullah's attack. A Spanish U.N. peacekeeper was killed when Israel fired retaliatory shells at south Lebanon.
Hizbullah announced that its “Quneitra Martyrs Group” targeted an Israeli military convoy in the Shebaa Farms.
The operation comes in response to a Jan. 18 Israeli air raid on a Hizbullah convoy in Syria's Quneitra which killed six Hizbullah fighters, including prominent militants, and a top Iranian general.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned after Wednesday's operation that "those behind today's attack will pay the full price."
He also warned that "the government of Lebanon and the Assad regime share responsibility for the consequences of attacks originating in their territory against the state of Israel."
Y.R.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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