AP and AFP
The newspaper La Jornada
Thursday, August 29, 2024, p. 24
New York. The United Nations Security Council yesterday demanded an end to the growing attacks between Hezbollah and Tel Aviv, warning that further escalation carries a high risk of producing a generalized conflict.
The non-binding body’s demand came in a resolution drafted by France and approved by the council’s 15 members, urging the relevant actors to restore “calm, control and stability.
The risk of open war remains real and we are mobilizing with our partners to prevent a regional conflagration.said France’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Nathalie Broadhurst, before the vote.
Hadi Hachem, representative of Lebanon, thanked the message in favor of stability and a ceasefireand called on member countries to work together towards a just and complete peace.
The resolution extended by one year the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, which was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon following Israel’s 1978 invasion, has remained in the region ever since and whose mission was expanded following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon blamed Hezbollah for launching unprovoked attacks since the day after Hamas carried out attacks on October 7.
Israel is determined to bring its civilians back to their homes, Danon said.
US support
The United States supported Tel Aviv’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah attacks in the Security Council, said Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood.
Nacim Gaouaoui, representative of Algeria, said that The main reason for instability in the Middle East is the occupation of Arab territoryand added that The end of the occupation is the condition for peace and security in the region.
This view was supported by Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Dimitry Polyansky.
Meanwhile, Israel announced that it killed Islamic Jihad militants in a bombing in Syria very close to the border with Lebanon, while the oil tanker Sounionwhich was attacked last week by the Houthis, seems to be spilling crude oil into the Red Sea, said US Department of Defense spokesman Patrick Ryder.