Beirut - The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern
Lebanon (UNIFIL) has informed the Lebanese government that upcoming
Israeli military exercises near the country's southern border have
'no hostile objectives,' the office of Prime Minister Fouad Seniora
said Thursday.
Beirut had made an official complaint to the United Nations which
was addressed to UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
'The UNIFIL command informed Lebanon that the maneuvers that
Israel will carry out end of this month are defensive exercises that
have no hostile objectives,' the prime minister's office stressed in
a statement.
On Monday, Hezbollah's Secretary General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah
warned that his movement was ready to fight a new war with
Israel in response to the exercises.
'There is a possibility that Israeli terrorists may be preparing
to launch a new surprise war and is readying its people for such an
eventuality,' Nasrallah said in a address carried on al-Manar, the
group's satellite channel.
'If Israel plans on pulling anything during the maneuvers we're
sending it a message that we stand ready and they will fail,' he
added. 'We will not bury our heads in the sand.'
He said the maneuvers, scheduled for May 31 to June 4, were
Israel's largest since 1961 and called for taking 'preventive
measures for the duration of the maneuvers.'
The Hezbollah chief said the military exercises, which Israel has
also described as one of its largest ever, may be a 'psychological
message' aimed at restoring the Israeli people's faith in their state
and defense forces in the wake of the 2006 war in Lebanon that many
saw as a victory for Hezbollah.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story