Government lodges protest letter over Israeli gunfire near peacekeepers

By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

Ireland has lodged a formal letter of objection with Israel after shots were fired in the vicinity of peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

The incident came during a joint Irish-United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) and Lebanese armed forces patrol close to the Blue Line on Thursday.

None of the Irish personnel – who had recently been deployed with Unifil as part of the 126th Infantry Battalion – were injured in the incident.

Oglaigh na hEireann said on Thursday that all personnel were reported to be safe and well, and continued to monitor the situation in southern Lebanon.

On the direction of the Minister for Defence, Simon Harris, a formal “demarche” has been served on the Israeli government through the UN.

It says Ireland considers the incident in the village of Yaroun as “completely unacceptable in terms of the safety of peacekeepers and the execution of their mandated duties”.

“These concerns are held at the highest levels” of the Irish Government and the Defence Forces, it adds.

Tanaiste Mr Harris was briefed on the incident by the new Chief of Staff Brigadier General Rossa Mulcahy.

Just before midday on Thursday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) fired shots into an area where a joint Irish-Lebanese unit was conducting peacekeeping duties. Nobody was injured.

Mr Harris said: “It’s clear to me that the actions of the IDF were reckless, intimidatory, totally unacceptable and a clear breach of the international rules surrounding peacekeeping.

“I want to pay tribute to our personnel deployed with Unifil, who are operating in an increasingly volatile and tense environment.”