Lebanese Army Says Naqoura Shooting an 'Individual Act by One of the Soldiers'
The Lebanese army on Monday described the deadly shooting on the border with Israel as "an individual act by one of the soldiers," noting that it will address the repercussions of the incident in coordination with the U.N. peacekeeping force.
“To clarify the shooting incident that happened overnight in the Ras al-Naqoura border area, the Army Command notes that what happened resulted from an individual act by one of the soldiers,” the army said in a statement.
“A military panel investigated the incident,” the statement added, noting that the army is “coordinating with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to address the incident's repercussions.”
“The Command again reiterates the army's full commitment to the stipulations of (U.N.) Security Council Resolution 1701, especially in terms of preserving the stability of the border area in cooperation and coordination with U.N. troops,” the army said.
Earlier on Monday, Lebanese and Israeli army officers met with U.N. peacekeepers after Israel accused Lebanese troops of gunning down one of its soldiers as he drove near the frontier.
"We discussed concrete steps to strengthen the existing security arrangements along the (U.N.-demarcated) Blue Line to prevent the re-occurrence of such incidents," UNIFIL Commander Major-General Paolo Serra said in a statement.
“All the circumstances of this incident are not clear at this time, but preliminary findings indicate that it was an individual action by a soldier in contravention of the existing operational rules and procedures. At this stage it is imperative that UNIFIL’s investigation in cooperation with the parties, and in particular with the LAF, is concluded as soon as possible,” Serra added.
The parties emphasized their "interest in preserving calm and stability along the Blue Line and pledged to work with UNIFIL to strengthen security arrangements to this end,” he said.
The shooting, which took place on Sunday evening, was the first time an Israeli soldier had been killed along the border with Lebanon in more than three years, sparking calls for calm from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The Israeli army said the soldier was shot by Lebanese troops as he was driving a civilian vehicle along a section of the border near Rosh HaNikra on the Mediterranean coast. The crossing is known in Lebanon as Ras al-Naqoura.
In a statement, the U.N. chief said UNIFIL was investigating the incident in cooperation with the two armies, and urged the sides to remain calm.
"The Israel Defense Forces and the Lebanese Armed Forces are cooperating with UNIFIL to ascertain the facts," he said.
"The secretary General reminds the Lebanese Armed Forces of their responsibilities under Security Council Resolution 1701 and strongly urges both sides to exercise restraint," he said of the resolution which ended hostilities in 2006.
Israel had filed a protest with UNIFIL over the incident which it described as an "outrageous breach" of its sovereignty.
And its military said it had "heightened its state of preparedness" and would maintain its "right to exercise self-defense."
The Israeli army said troops searching the area on Sunday, shortly after the shooting, had fired towards two suspects who were standing on the other side of the border, hitting one of them.
"After the incident, we reached the area to conduct searches as part of the investigation, and saw two suspects on the other side of the border," army spokesman Major Arye Shalicar told Agence France Presse.
"We shot at them, and saw we hit at least one. We think they were Lebanese soldiers... involved in the shooting of the soldier," he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said the shooter was understood to be "a Lebanese soldier."
"We hold the Lebanese government and Lebanese army responsible for what happens on their side," he said.
He said Israel would demand explanations from the Lebanese army at the meeting with UNIFIL.
The soldier, 31-year-old Master Sergeant Shlomi Cohen, died after his car was hit by "six to seven rounds," Shalicar said.
There was no immediate reaction from the Lebanese army on Sunday but it issued a statement on Monday saying an Israeli drone had violated Lebanese airspace in the same area shortly after the incident.
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