Tenenti: All Sides in Lebanon Voiced Support for UNIFIL According to Resolution 1701

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon spokesman Andrea Tenenti stated on Thursday that the international troops were deployed in Lebanon at the request of the Lebanese authorities.

He said in a statement: “The Lebanese were in national agreement over UNIFIL’s functioning and U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.”

Furthermore, he pointed out to the March meeting between Prime Minister Najib Miqati and UNIFIL Commander Alberto Asarta, during which the former voiced his keenness on the situation in southern Lebanon, deployment of the army, and functioning of UNIFIL.

Tenenti repeated assertions that the international force doesn’t have the jurisdiction to demarcate Lebanon’s maritime border, but it could once it receives the approval from both Lebanon and Israel.

In addition, he stressed that since 2006, UNIFIL prevented a number of security incidents in Lebanon’s territorial water near the Israeli maritime border, noting that such developments may escalate tensions between the two sides.

For this purpose, he revealed that UNIFIL began consultations with Israel and Lebanon in order to limit the number of such incidents.