Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the UN chief, on Sunday to move peacekeepers deployed in south Lebanon out of “harm’s way”, saying Hezbollah was using them as “human shields”.
UNIFIL, a mission of about 9,500 troops of various nationalities, was created following Israel’s 1978 invasion of Lebanon.
His call to UN chief Antonio Guterres came a day after the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) repeated its refusal to withdraw from the border area after five of its members were wounded in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
“Mr Secretary General, get the UNIFIL forces out of harm’s way. It should be done right now, immediately,” Netanyahu said in a video statement issued by his office.
Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Israeli forces had asked UNIFIL several times to leave, saying that the peacekeepers’ presence had “the effect of providing Hezbollah terrorists with human shields”.
“Your refusal to evacuate the UNIFIL soldiers makes them hostages of Hezbollah. This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers,” the premier said.
“We regret the harm to UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing our utmost to prevent such harm. But the simplest and most obvious way to ensure this is simply to withdraw them from the danger zone.”
UNIFIL has refused to leave its positions in southern Lebanon.
“There was a unanimous decision to stay because it’s important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region, and to be able to report to the Security Council,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP in an interview on Saturday.
He said Israel had asked UNIFIL to withdraw from positions “up to five kilometres (three miles) from the Blue Line” separating both countries, but the peacekeepers refused.
That would have included its 29 positions in south Lebanon.

France24 report

With this call, Netanyahu clearly sets a statement, namely, he has no regard for internationally established mechanisms, and he does not acknowledge the International Humanitarian Law.
Once again, he prooves with his actions that “Israel” is not an Institutional State, as it is an occupying colony.

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