Lebanon: IAF planes infiltrating Lebanese airspace will be shot

[bemildred]

Lebanese Defense Minister Elias al-Murr said on Friday that the Lebanese army has received orders to open fire upon all Israeli aircrafts violating Lebanon's sovereignty by entering its airspace, reported the London-based Arab language publication Al Hayat.

In an interview with Al Hayat, al-Murr said "following the retreat of the Israeli enemy, there are two kinds of violations. There are those that occur on the green line, which we will determine next week with the United Nations after the enemy retreats to the positions it held in 2000. As for airspace violations? The army command has received a direct order to open fire upon any aircraft infiltrating Lebanese airspace."

Al-Murr also said that Lebanon is documenting all incidents of violations against its sovereignty, and submitting them to the UN.

Haaretz

[Warren Stupidity]

1. As they should.

Not that they are likely to hit anything, but Israel has to treat its neighbors with respect if it expects them to do the same.

[breakaleg]

2. I couldn't agree more. n/t

[Solo_in_MD]

3. Unless Syria has bootlegged them SAMs, the have no IADS

The IAF took what they had down early in the last go round. That means if they have any operable SAMs the first warning they get is when the planes or helos are overhead.

Its a safe asumption they have some older handheld models. If they need newer ones they can always get them from Hezbollah.

[idontwantaname]

4. israeli planes over lebanese airspace is nothing new

its been going on many many years. in the past lebanese anti air guns have responded, though we know the last thing anybody wants if for the lebanese govt to shoot down an israeli jet.

[razors edge]

9. Yeh, because we have to pay to replace it.

[Solo_in_MD]

11. AAA has altitude limits as does hand held SAMs

Without an IADS backed up by SAMs, you just fly over the top.

[bemildred]

5. Israeli jets execute mock air raids over Lebanon

BEIRUT, Oct 13 (KUNA) -- Israeli fighter jets executed mock air raids on Friday over a number of Lebanese areas, once again violating Lebanese airspace and UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

A Lebanese security source told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the fighter jets flew over Marjayoun, Al-Khayyam, Kafarla, Tyre, Nabatiya, and Iqlim Al-Tuffah in South Lebanon, adding that the mock raids were executed at a low altitude.

Moreover, the source said Israeli jets violated air space over Arqoub and Hasbia in the South, heading to West Bekaa at a medium altitude.

Israel violates Lebanon's sovereignty on a daily basis and continues to challenge resolutions of the international community for halting such acts. (end.)

KUNA

[idontwantaname]

6. israel is violation another nations borders?

it must the PAs fault!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=124&topic_id=150832&mesg_id=150835

[Solo_in_MD]

7. KUNA is scarcely authoritative and what they claim is nonsensical

from a tactical perspective. The IAF would not risk planes or air crew on mock raids. Either it was something else (recon?) or it did not happen, or the reports were confused. Probably a mix of all of the above.

[idontwantaname]

8. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile

Israel violates Lebanese air space despite existing regional tension - UN envoy

13 October 2003 – Israeli jets, flying over areas of southern Lebanon, violated the Blue Line marking Israeli withdrawal from the area seven times today, but did not meet anti-aircraft fire from Lebanese territory, a senior United Nations envoy said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, expressed his "concern over these violations of the Blue Line and Lebanese air space by Israeli aircraft."

"These air violations come amid an already tense situation in Southern Lebanon and the region in general," his statement said. "He reiterates his call on Israel to cease these violations and for all parties to exercise restraint and respect fully the Blue Line, in order to avoid a further deterioration of the situation on the ground."

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=8535&Cr=lebanon


----------------------


N calls on Israel to stop violating Lebanese air space

9 September 2004 – The senior United Nations envoy for Southern Lebanon today called on Israel to cease its violations of Lebanese air space following an escalation of such incidents over the past 36 hours after several weeks of calm.

Expressing concern at the large number of violations, the office of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Personal Representative, Staffan de Mistura, noted that five such incidents were recorded yesterday, and a further eight today. No anti-aircraft fire was reported.

“These breaches of Lebanese airspace disturb a calm that has prevailed over recent weeks,” the office said in a statement released in Beirut. “The United Nations renews its call on Israel to cease these violations and reminds all parties that one violation cannot not justify another.”

Mr. de Mistura issued a similar warning a month ago.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=11870&Cr=lebanon&Cr1=

------------------------

UNIFIL: 2006-08-19
<snip>
UNIFIL observed yesterday three Israeli aircrafts violating Lebanese airspace in the central sector.
<snip>

http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20060821132146423

-------------------------

Israel Continues To Violates Lebanese Airspace
Friday, 24 September 2004, 12:06 pm
Press Release: United Nations
UN Envoy Voices Concern Over Israeli Violations Of Lebanese Airspace

After a 24-hour period marked by nine Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace, a senior United Nations envoy to the region today called for an end to the overflights.

In a statement released in Beirut, the Secretary-General's Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, voiced his "serious concern" and said the renewed breaches "disturb the relative calm currently prevailing along the Blue Line" of withdrawal.

"The United Nations renews its urgent call on Israel to cease these violations and reminds all parties that one violation cannot justify another," he said.

There were no reports of anti-aircraft fire in the recent incidents.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0409/S00294.htm

[Solo_in_MD]

10. Which have nothing to do with what KUNA was reporting as having happened

the day before.

Not saying it doesn't happen, not saying that it didn't happen yesterday, I am stating that the KUNA report is suspect since what it details makes no tactical sense as mock air strikes.

I also pointed out that there could well have been incursions, though not in the number cited and certainly not for the reason given.

Details and facts matter...when a media outlet can't get basics right you have to be skeptical about much of their other content.

[idontwantaname]

12. i agree with your last line

the rest just seemed to be a series of words stumbling in circles.

[bemildred]

13. Overflights by Israel Said to Violate Truce

Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, October 12, 2006; Page A24

BEIRUT, Oct. 11 -- Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora warned Wednesday that Israeli military flights over his country's territory were endangering a nearly two-month-old truce that ended this summer's war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

Siniora, speaking in an interview, said the overflights were occurring daily. The United Nations, which considers them a violation of the Aug. 14 truce, said it recorded 10 overflights of warplanes and surveillance drones from Oct. 3 to midnight Oct. 9.

---

Israel has said it will continue overflights of Lebanese territory until U.N. Resolution 1701 is, in its view, implemented fully. It says that would require the return of the two soldiers that Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite group, captured in a cross-border raid on July 12 and an inspection mechanism to ensure that no weapons cross the Syrian border into Lebanon to resupply Hezbollah guerrillas.

---

Aoun and, to a lesser extent, Hezbollah have demanded that Siniora's cabinet resign in favor of what they call a "national unity government" that would give them more power. Corruption, rife in Lebanese public life, is one of their biggest complaints. So is what they view as the government's ineffectiveness.

WaPo

[Solo_in_MD]

14. No argument that they are occuring but some reliable data as to why

would be more useful than what KUNA and others put out.

[Scurrilous]

15. Peretz: French UNIFIL say will fire at IAF overflights

<snip>

"Commanders of the French contingent of the United Nations force in Lebanon have warned that they might have to open fire if Israel Air Force warplanes continue their overflights in Lebanon, Defense Minister Amir Peretz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday.

Peretz said that nevertheless, Israel would continue to patrol the skies over Lebanon as long as United Nations resolution 1701 remained unfilfilled, adding that such operations were critical for the country's security, especially as the abducted IDF soldiers remain in Hezbollah custody and the transfer of arms continue.

Over the past few days, Peretz said, Israel had gathered clear evidence that Syria was transfering arms and ammunition to Lebanon, meaning that the embargo imposed by UN Resolution 1701 was not being completely enforced.

Israel plans to inform the joint committee of representatives of UNIFIL, the Israel Defense Forces and the Lebanese Army that unless the arms transfers are stopped, Israel will be forced to take independent action, Peretz said."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/775387.html

[bemildred]

16. Possible this could get interesting. nt

[tocqueville]

17. France has Crotale missiles

http://www.army-technology.com/projects/crotale/

[Englander]

18. This doesn't sound very credible, to me.

Why would "Commanders of the French contingent of the United Nations force in Lebanon" suggest, or
communicate to the Israeli forces that they "might have to open fire" on Iaf warplanes? I think this
is more a case of a lying sack of shite, in this case, Peretz, just making stuff up.

And UNSC Resolution 1701 emphasises the strong support for full respect for the Blue Line, and strong
support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon, not any
strong support for the Iaf to blatantly disregard the Blue Line, & the territorial integrity,
sovereignty & political independence of Lebanon.

'The text of Resolution 1701, passed unanimously by the UN Security Council aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4785963.stm