Lebanon complains to UN against 'blatant' Israeli incursion

Beirut, May 17 (IANS) Lebanon filed an urgent complaint to the United Nations on what it said was Israel's "blatant" breaches of its sovereignty and a Security Council resolution, Xinhua quoted the state-run National News Agency (NNA) Saturday.

The Lebanese army said that an Israeli infantry force crossed the Blue Line in the al-Labbouneh border sector last Sunday, uprooted some trees and thus exposed a Lebanese army checkpoint.

Lebanon's foreign ministry Saturday complained that Israel's action had violated its sovereignty and the UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

The ministry also filed two other complaints on Israeli breaches.

The first breach was May 1 when Israeli forces violated the Blue Line near the southern town of Hula, and the other May 9 when they tried to kidnap three Lebanese citizens in an outlying area of Shebaa.

The NNA also said that the Israeli navy violated Lebanese territorial waters off Ras al-Naqoura when their gun-boats pushed a line of buoys 20 meters into Lebanese territorial waters.

Lebanon's southern border has continuously witnessed violations by Israel since the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which put an end to the 33-day devastating war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah party in 2006.