UN force monitoring Lebanon-Israel withdrawal line brokers end to exchange of fire

United Nations peacekeepers monitoring the so-called Blue Line which marks Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon today brokered a halt to an exchange of fire which had started on the Lebanese side.

The firing, in the Shebaa Farms area, lasted for about an hour and a half, according to a UN spokesman.

With the firing now on hold, troops from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are patrolling the area, spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

Also today, UNIFIL completed its investigation into the shooting death of a young Lebanese national by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) on Wednesday.

Meeting with Lebanese Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, the Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for Lebanon, Geir Pedersen, called the killing “a serious violation of the Blue Line by Israel.”

He also called on all parties to exercise full restraint and to fully respect the Blue Line while reminding them that one violation cannot justify another.