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| By Associated Press February 6, 2007 |
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The Israeli army said it uncovered four bombs on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon and accused Hizbullah guerrillas of planting the explosives in recent days.
If confirmed, the discovery announced Monday would mark a violation of a U.N.-brokered cease-fire by Hizbullah and indicate a failure by international peacekeepers to prevent new attacks on Israel. Both Hizbullah and U.N. officials said they were looking into the report.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz instructed his office to convey an "urgent message" to the U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon following the "severe incident," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Lt. Col. Guy Hazoot, the operations officer of Israel's northern division, said an Israeli patrol on Monday discovered and detonated all of the explosives, which were hidden in containers that looked like boulders. He said the explosives were designed to target Israeli military patrols on the border and had the potential to kill.
Hazoot said the bombs were planted as recently as Sunday night, under the cover of the stormy weather, but gave no evidence to back the allegation. The military conducts routine patrols in the area.
Israel and Hizbullah battled a bloody 34-day war last summer, with Israeli border towns pummeled with thousands of rockets. The border area has largely remained quiet since the Aug. 14 cease-fire took hold.
Under the cease-fire, thousands of international peacekeepers, along with Lebanese government troops, police the border to ensure quiet. The deal bars Hizbullah guerrillas from carrying arms in the border area.
Hazoot said UNIFIL peacekeepers have thwarted similar Hizbullah attempts to lay roadside bombs in the past, but had failed to do so this time.
"We view the Lebanese army as responsible for this event," he said, and warned. "We will take all the necessary steps to make sure that these such events do not recur."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev would not directly address the incident but called on Lebanon to respect the cease-fire that forced guerrillas out of southern Lebanon. "That goal must be implemented," he said.
A Hizbullah official in Beirut said the group was checking the Israeli report.
Liam McDowall, a UNIFIL spokesman in Lebanon, said Israel had notified the peacekeeping force of the incident. "We have sent a team to look into the matter and see what was detonated," he said.
He said the area where the bombs were reportedly uncovered was littered with mines and added that UNIFIL might have more details after its team has completed its investigation. |
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