Serra Heads his 1st Tripartite Meeting, Says Parties Should Maintain Stability

Senior Lebanese and Israeli military officials held a meeting on Thursday in Ras al-Naqoura under the supervision of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

UNIFIL Commander Maj.-Gen. Paolo Serra headed the meeting intended to boost security measures along the Blue Line and to halt any violations by both parties.

“The meeting was called to assist the parties in putting in place additional security measures along the Blue Line in Kafr Kila area,” Serra said following the meeting.

According to a UNIFIL statement, Serra stressed the importance of maintaining a stable situation as the meeting was called in order to “minimize the scope for sporadic tensions or any misunderstandings that could lead to escalation of the situation.”

Serra assumed the command of UNIFIL on January 28, succeeding Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas.

“We had a very constructive discussion. Both parties are clearly interested in enhancing security in the area,” Serra said.

The statement revealed that Israel had presented a plan to construct a wall to replace the technical fence.

Serra stressed that “UNIFIL’s primary endeavor will be now to enable necessary security during the works and to ensure that there is no violation of the Blue Line in the process.”