Israel is violating our rights
The Lebanese Shia group Hizb Allah has said its attack on Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms region was not just in retaliation to the killing of one of its members but an act of self-defence.
Hizb Allah leader Khodhir Noor el-Deen told Aljazeera that Israel had occupied Lebanese lands, violated their rights over the sky and water and was holding many Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails.
“From time to time, we want to remind the world about our condition and to pressurise Israel to leave our land and free our prisoners,” he said.
Peace process
El-Deen, a key leader from Bint Jibeil in south Lebanon, said Israel’s threats to Syria and Lebanon were not new. “Israel wants to divert attention from what it is doing in Palestine and to hinder the ongoing peace process,” he said.
On Friday, Hizb Allah attacked Israeli positions across the disputed Shebaa Farms region in retaliation against the killing of one of its key leaders Ali Hussein Saleh in a car bomb explosion in Beirut on August 2.
Reacting to the attack, Israel has stepped up pressure on Syria and Lebanon to help prevent new rocket attacks on its northern border.
“From time to time, we want to remind the world about our condition and to pressurise Israel to leave our land and free our prisoners.” -Hizb Allah leader |
Tel Aviv has lodged a complaint against the two countries at the United Nations after the Hizb Allah attack, reported Israeli radio.
The complaint warned that unless Damascus and Beirut used their influence to restrain the Hizb Allah, Israel would be forced to take steps to protect its citizens, the radio said. It did not elaborate.
Israel lodged the protest with the United Nations Security Council, where Syria incidentally holds the rotating chairmanship.
The United States also warned Lebanon and Syria against backing new attacks, with State Department spokesman Philip Reeker saying that “the time has come for them to end support for the Hizb Allah.”
The land in question was given to Lebanon by Syria and forms part of the Golan Heights. However, Israel has persistently disputed the legality of the land transition between the two countries and refuses to acknowledge Shebaa Farms as being Lebanese.