Israeli
public radio said Saturday the government had lodged a complaint against
the two countries at the United Nations after the first attack by
Lebanon-based Hizbullah resistance group in seven months.
The
complaint warned that unless Damascus and Beirut use their influence to
restrain Hizbullah, Israel would be forced to take steps to protect its
citizens, the radio said. It did not elaborate, according to Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Israeli
ambassador Danny Gillerman lodged the protest with the UN Security
Council, where Syria ironically holds the rotating chairmanship.
U.S.
Warning
And
in Washington, Israel’s ally, the U.S. also warned Lebanon and Syria
over the first big attack by Hizbullah against Israel for several
months, according to the BBC online news service.
The
U.S. State Department said it was in the interest of both Syria and
Lebanon maintain calm in the border area.
"We
have made clear to Lebanon and Syria of our serious concern over this
calculated and provocative escalation by Hizbullah," State
Department spokesman Philip Reeker said.
"We
have stressed the importance of maximum restrain to prevent any further
attacks," he added.
Israeli
warplanes, helicopter guns hips and artillery responded to Hizbullah
attack on the Shebaa Farms border region, a Lebanese territory occupied
by Israel.
Although
no casualties were reported, the Israeli army called the incident
"very serious" and vowed in a statement to "act against
those who are behind terrorism or support terrorist attacks"
against the Jewish state.
Hizbullah
Retaliation
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|
The
border region between Israel and Lebanon remains tense
|
Despite
the Israeli and U.S. claims Hizbullah was to blame for the latest
escalation, the Shiite resistance group said it had carried out its
onslaught Friday in retaliation for the death of one of its members in a
Beirut car bomb blast last week that it blamed on Israeli agents.
But
Israeli officials, who have long feared being caught in a two-front
conflict, linked Friday's attack to the precarious ceasefire with
Palestinian resistance activists that took hold six weeks ago.
A
senior Israeli official, speaking to AFP with no identity revealed,
claimed the assault was prompted by "the frustration felt by
Hizbullah and possibly its foreign supporters" over the sharp
decline in Israeli-Palestinian violence.
The
eruption around the mountainous frontier area Friday was only part of
the region's most turbulent day since Palestinian resistance groups such
as Hamas and Islamic Jihad declared a three-month truce on June 29.
The
border region between Israel and Lebanon remains tense, despite Israel's
withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000.
It
ended a 22-year occupation, but Hizbullah says Israel's withdrawal will
not be complete until the farms are vacated.
