Spain, Italy, Russia and China Condemn Israeli Fire on UN’ Peacekeepers in Lebanon

Fri Oct 11 2024
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MADRID:  Spain, Italy, Russia and China have condemned Israeli fire on the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has urged the world to stop selling arms to Israel as he denounced attacks by Israel’s military against the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

Israeli troops fired at an observation post used by UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Friday, wounding two, a UN source stated, the third day in a row peacekeeper have reported Israeli fire at their positions as Israel wages war on Lebanon and Hezbollah.

Spain

Spain has deployed around 650 peacekeepers in Lebanon and a Spanish general leads the mission in the area. However, none of the Spanish troops who were part of the mission were hit, the Spanish Defense Ministry stated on Friday.

PM Sanchez stated Spain stopped selling arms to Israel in October 2023 and urged the rest of the world to do the same to stop further escalation in the entire region. He said that the world should stop exporting arms to the Israeli government.

UN chief Antonio Guterres

UN chief Antonio Guterres, China, Russia, and Italy have similarly denounced Israeli forces for the assaults on the UN peacekeeping units. The UN Secretary General said that these incidents are intolerable. He warned Israel that there must be no repeat of an “intolerable” incident in which its troops fired on peacekeepers in Lebanon, injuring two.

Russia

Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated that it was “outraged” by what it said was an Israeli army attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon and demanded that Israeli forces refrain from any “hostile actions” against peacekeepers. In a statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that Russia is outraged by the acts of the Israeli military.

China

China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that Beijing expressed grave concern and strong condemnation over the Israeli Defense Forces’ attack on UNIFIL positions and observation posts, which resulted in injuries to UNIFIL officials.

Israeli troops have acted unlawfully by shooting at positions used by UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto stated on Thursday, condemning it as a possible war crime.

Crosetto told a press conference that this was not a mistake and not an accident, adding it could constitute a war crime and represented a very serious violation of global humanitarian law.

UN peacekeepers stated that Israeli fire on their headquarters in south Lebanon Thursday left two Blue Helmets wounded, sparking condemnation from across the world.

Israel admitted its troops had opened fire in the area, adding the Hezbollah on whom it is waging an escalating war operate near Unted Nations posts.

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