Serra Describes Tripartite Meeting as 'Constructive,' Urges Parties to Maintain Calm
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Commander Maj.-Gen. Paolo Serra voiced his support to the wall that Israel is building along the Lebanese border.
“This project was designed to improve the security in the area and therefore, we cannot allow a de-conflicting project to become a source of conflict in one of the most sensitive areas,” Serra said on Wednesday after chairing a tripartite meeting with senior Lebanese and Israeli security officials at the U.N. headquarters at Ras al-Naqoura crossing.
The meeting tackled the construction of the wall by the Israeli in the general area near the town of Kfar Kila.
The security wall is approximately one kilometer long and would replace the technical fence on the same line as the existing fence.
He described the meeting as “constructive,” hailing the continuous efforts by both parties to prevent tensions from “building up in the work area.”
Israel's military announced the project in January, saying it would protect recently-constructed apartment blocks in Metulla from sniper fire coming from the Lebanese border town of Kfar Kila.
Serra said that Lebanon and Israel expressed their full support and commitment to work together with UNIFIL “for the implementation of the relevant provisions of (U.N. Security Council) resolution 1701 and to maintain calm in the area.”
He proposed that additional measurements should be carried out on the ground “to avoid misunderstandings that could create tension in this sensitive area.”
According to a statement issued by the peacekeeping force, a UNIFIL technical team will start carrying out measurements in the coming days.
The meeting also discussed the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, including the situation along the Blue Line, the ongoing visible marking of the Blue Line, violations and incidents as well as the issue of withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Ghajar, the statement added.
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