The Issue:
Today, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) confirmed Israel's assertion that its forces were operating in its sovereign territory when they came under fire yesterday (August 3, 2010) from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) at the border. One Israeli commander was killed and another seriously wounded in what Israel has described as an "ambush".
At the time of the incident, IDF personnel were clearing bushes in an enclave, a small area between Israel's security fence and the internationally recognized border (the "Blue Line,") between Israel and Lebanon. In order to prevent an incident such as that which occurred, the IDF had notified UNIFIL and coordinated in advance of their intent to carry out routine maintenance work in the border area.
In an interview this morning on Israeli Army Radio, Hungarian diplomat Milos Strugar, who is serving as the political advisor to the UNIFIL commander, said that the work carried out by the IDF along the border with Lebanon took place within Israeli territory and was coordinated ahead of time with the Lebanese army. "The Israelis pruned a tree south of the Blue Line." Strugar emphasized that the IDF coordinated the pruning work with the Lebanese Army through UNIFIL. "I can confirm that the IDF had coordinated the pruning work along the border with the Lebanese Army through UNIFIL. The IDF informed UNIFIL that it would be pruning a tree on the northern side of the border fence, but south of the international border line."
Broader Context:
Ha'aretz reporter Amos Harel provided important background to yesterday's clash: "In the last few months, there has been increasing friction between the Lebanese army and the IDF over the entire length of the border, as the Lebanese forces – especially Division 9, most of whose commanders are Shiite Muslim – take an aggressive stance against what they are calling Israeli provocations. On the other hand, the fact that we're talking about an incident with the Lebanese army and not with the militia Hezbollah, which operates in southern Lebanon, is likely to help calm tensions, because the government in Beirut has no interest in a confrontation with Israel.
"The problem is that in this crisis there is a third party, Hezbollah, that has found itself in trouble over the last few weeks, as they are expecting to receive arrest warrants for some of its leaders surrounding the assassination of the former prime minister of Lebanon Rafik Hariri. If the head of the militia, Hassan Nasrallah, decides to add fuel to the fire, it will be a lot more difficult to extinguish.
"On Tuesday afternoon, the IDF Northern Command has speculated that Hezbollah had a hand in the border conflict. According to speculations, Hezbollah used its allies within the Lebanese army to spark a confrontation.
"Up until this week, despite the Gaza flotilla incident, this has been the quietest summer with respect to Israel's security in many years. As of now, no connections can be made between the Katyushas launched at Eilat and Aqaba on Monday with the incidents on the northern border on Tuesday. However, the accumulation of these incidents (complemented by the Katyusha on Ashkelon and the Qassam on Sderot over the weekend) raises the tension level on the regional barometer. It will take effort on the part of all sides, especially the American government, to prevent tensions from escalating further."
Hezbollah also has an interest in distracting attention from a pending UN report that, it is widely believed, will blame Hezbollah officials for their role in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Aerial photo depicting the location of the incident – on the Israeli side of the border.
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