New York - Israel on Monday protested United Nations inaction to stop 15 Hezbollah and Lebanese civilians who allegedly entered Israeli territory and planted flags last week. Isaeli UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that the group penetrated 175 metres into Israel's Khirbat Slim area Friday, crossing the artificial border known as Blue Line at a place manned by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
"During this incident, UNIFIL refrained from taking any action to prevent the crossing of these individuals into Israeli territory," Shalev said.
She said the group returned to Lebanon after planting the Hezbollah and Lebanese flags. "Some of the organizers of this violation even claimed that they had coordinated their actions with UNIFIL," Shalev said.
"In any case, given the proximity of the violation to a UNIFIL position, Israel would have expected that UNIFIL intervene in time to prevent this violation."
