The Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in 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), on implementation of relevant provisions of UN Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) under UNIFIL’s mandate.

The main topic of discussion was the armed incident in Labouneh territory during the night of 7 August 2013, and the rocket attack on Israel on 22 August 2013.
Maj-Gen Serra expressed serious concern at the Labouneh incident and stated that the IDF incursion inside Lebanese territory constituted a serious breach of the cessation of hostilities and a violation of resolution 1701 (2006). He also stressed that any presence of unauthorized arms or armed people in this area was also a serious violation of resolution 1701 (2006).

Maj-Gen Serra also strongly condemned the rocket attack on Israel which was a serious violation of resolution 1701 (2006) and a breach of the cessation of hostilities.

He strongly protested these violations and called for full cooperation with UNIFIL’s investigations into the incidents.

Following the meeting, Maj-Gen Serra said: “At the meeting, I pressed upon the parties in the strongest possible terms to refrain from any activity which is not in line with resolution 1701 (2006) and to prevent all hostile activities from their respective territories. I was encouraged that the parties today reaffirmed their full commitment to the cessation of hostilities and expressed their readiness to work with UNIFIL to keep the area calm.”