“Don't Fuck with Israel. Never”

This what Netanyahu said to Guterres as his first reaction on Guterres' blaming of Israel for “over the top strikes near a UN watch post in Southern Lebanon.”

“It is time for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and combat areas. Don't fuck with Israel. Never!”

He paraphrased then in English more politely:

“Mr. Secretary General, get the UNIFIL forces out of danger. It has to be done right now, immediately.”

During Friday's incident, two UN peacekeepers were injured in an Israeli strike near their watchtower, which served as the main UNIFIL base in Nakoura. UNIFIL reported that an Israeli bulldozer also demolished barriers at UN positions near the Blue Line marking the border between Lebanon and Israel, while tanks advanced in the area.
IDF is investigating the incidents, but said its forces were operating against Hezbollah in those areas. European countries and the United States have called on Israel to ensure the safe operation of peacekeepers, despite its military operation to oust Hezbollah from southern Lebanon.

IDF has repeatedly asked for this and received repeated refusals, Netanyahu said, explaining that keeping peacekeepers at their base turns them into a human shield for Hezbollah.

“Your refusal to evacuate UNIFIL soldiers makes them hostages of Hezbollah. This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers.”

“We regret the injury of the UNIFIL soldiers and are doing everything in our power to prevent this injury. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone,”

Netanyahu said.

The United States and several European countries, most notably France and Spain, have criticized Israel for the attacks.

“Unfortunately, some European leaders are exerting pressure for the wrong purpose,”

Netanyahu said.

“Instead of criticizing Israel, they should direct their criticism at Hezbollah, which uses UNIFIL as a human shield,”

he said.

UNIFIL has more than 10,000 personnel, with Italy, France, Malaysia, Indonesia and India among the largest suppliers.

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni confirmed in a telephone conversation with Netanyahu that Israeli attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon are unacceptable, the Italian government said on Sunday.

The Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Force, which has about 340 personnel serving in UNIFIL, said Friday's attack on the observation tower was deliberate.

"An observation tower that was hit by a shell directly from a tank, which is a very small target, must be very deliberate, and this is direct fire.

So, from a military point of view, this is not a random act. This is a direct act,"

Lieutenant General Sean Clancy said.

Israel has strained relations with Guterres, which have only worsened since October 7.

Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz posted on Sunday that he had already declared Guterres “persona non grata” and banned him from entering Israel due to his failure to condemn Iran's missile strike on Israel, as well as his anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli behavior.

“The survey showed that 87% of the Israeli public supports this decision. Guterres may continue to seek support from UN member states, but the decision will not change,”

Katz wrote.

#Israel #Israel #Katz #UNIFIL #Lebanon #Clancy #India #France

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Seven Rounds in Rome, Zero Movement

The seventh round of Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome ended as these negotiations usually do: everyone reported progress, and nothing moved.

Beirut wanted to expand the pilot-zone model to Bint Jbeil or Khiam. Israel said no. The real dispute was not over maps but trust: who verifies that the Lebanese Army has cleared Hezbollah’s armed presence from an area? Israel wants a mechanism it can trust.

Lebanon does not want Israel acting as the inspector of Lebanese sovereignty. That is not a technical disagreement. That is the entire war in one procedural question.

The framework is deceptively simple. Israel withdraws gradually. The Lebanese Army deploys. Hezbollah’s infrastructure is dismantled. A third party verifies it.

But every verb has its own veto. Beirut wants the withdrawal to prove the state can return. Israel wants proof first, because it assumes Hezbollah will return the moment its troops leave.

France was floated for a possible multinational force to replace UNIFIL. Israel objected.

Washington is considering how to strengthen the Lebanese Army — the same army Israel is being asked to trust with clearing territory it doubts can ever be truly cleared.

Meanwhile, the negotiations proceeded in Rome while artillery and airstrikes hit southern Lebanon. UNIFIL recorded 113 Israeli artillery rounds in a single day, its highest tally since late June. Diplomacy held meetings; the border held explosions.

Israel also raised the murder and disappearance of members of Lebanon’s Jewish community, demanding information on burial sites.

Lebanon raised prisoners. The delegations discovered, once again, that history is not a file that can be moved to the bottom of the agenda.

A Lebanese diplomatic source says there may be no new round next month. Perhaps after the summer.

The villages in southern Lebanon have not been offered a summer recess.

#Lebanon #Israel #Hezbollah #Rome #UNIFIL #war #diplacy #MiddleEast

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