The Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Forcein Lebanon (UNIFIL), Major-General Paolo Serra, today chaired a regular tripartite meeting with senior officers from the Lebanese Armed Forces(LAF) and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) at the UN Position at Ras AlNaqoura crossing.

The meeting discussed the implementation of relevant provisions of UN Security Council resolution 1701 under UNIFIL's mandate, including the situation along the Blue Line, the on-going visible marking of the Blue Line, the issue of withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Ghajar, violations as well as the recent rockets incidents.

Major-General Serra said: "It was a constructive meeting. The Tripartite forum continues to be an indispensable element in the regular liaison and coordination between UNIFIL and the parties, and remains a key mechanism to address security and military operational issues related to the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006)".

Major-General Serra was pleased to see the positive engagement of both the parties on all the issues on the agenda and expressed satisfaction that the situation in the area of operations has remained quiet and stable, with the parties reiterating their commitment to the cessation of hostilities, to maintain calm in the area and to prevent incidents and tension along the Blue Line.

The Force Commander emphasized how the events of the last two weeks have shown clearly that strong liaison and coordination arrangements are critical to maintaining the calm in our immediate region, and preventing an escalation, especially at a time of heightened tensions in the region.