UN council has "deep concern" over Israel/Lebanon
Source: Reuters
(Recasts with Security Council statement, details throughout) By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed "deep concern" on Thursday over a border clash between Israel and Lebanon and appealed for both countries to refrain from further action. Israeli and Lebanese soldiers exchanged fire on Wednesday after Lebanese troops shot in the air as an Israeli patrol crossed a security fence near the border to search for explosives planted by Hezbollah guerrillas. No one was hurt. It was the first such clash since Lebanon deployed regular forces along the frontier as part of a U.N.-brokered cease-fire that ended a 34-day war last year between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas. The border has been largely quiet since then. "The members of the Security Council expressed deep concern about this incident," the council said in a statement, adding that all parties should "exercise utmost restraint and refrain from any action that could further escalate the situation." The council also reiterated in the statement -- issued after concerns over the incident were raised by France -- its call for full implementation of its resolution 1701. The resolution adopted on Aug. 11 called for a truce and a peacekeeping force to help the Lebanese army supervise the pull-out of Israeli troops from the southern Lebanon after the war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas. It authorized up to 13,000 well-armed troops to augment a 2,000-member U.N. force already in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL. "The secretary-general calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, avoid provocative actions and display responsibility in implementing resolution 1701," U.N. chief spokeswoman Michele Montas said. Israel ordered searches in the area where Wednesday's shooting occurred after discovering four explosive devices on the border on Monday. Israeli officials accused Hezbollah of planting the bombs recently, but the group said it placed them before the July-August war.
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