Netanyahu tells UN chief to move peacekeepers in Lebanon ‘immediately’
Addressing Guterres, the Israeli prime minister has demanded removing UN peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon after many of them were wounded in Israeli attacks.
“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.
At least five UN peacekeepers have been wounded in recent days as Israeli forces fight against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu’s appeal comes a day after the UN forces in Lebanon refused to withdraw from the border area despite five of its members being wounded in Israeli fire in recent days.
Netanyahu, speaking at a cabinet meeting, said Israeli forces asked UNIFIL several times to leave but it “met with repeated refusals” that provided a “human shield to Hezbollah terrorists”.
“Your refusal to evacuate the UNIFIL soldiers makes them hostages of Hezbollah. This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers. We regret the injuring of UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injuring. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone.”
Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Jamjoom reports from Amman, Jordan.
Menachem Klein is a Professor of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University.
He joins us from West Jerusalem to discuss the latest updates.
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