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Wed, aug 04, 2010 | Arutz Sheva | Jerusalem Post | by Gil Ronen

An Israeli military bulldozer removes the tree a day after clashes between the Lebanese army and the Israeli army at al-Adaysseh on the Lebanese-Israeli border. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a public warning to Lebanon on Wednesday, saying it would face a "vigorous" Israeli response in the event of more unrest on their shared border. (AFP/Joseph Eid)

Don’t Test Us, Netanyahu Tells Lebanon and Hamas

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a warning to Israel’s enemies Wednesday evening, following a series of attacks on Israel on several fronts.

Netanyahu expressed his condolences to the family of Lieutenant-Colonel (res.) Dov Harari, who was killed in an ambush by the Lebanese Army Tuesday. He also sent get-well wishes to Captain (res.) Ezra Lakia, who was wounded in the attack, and who is now conscious and recovering.

“In the past few days we have witnessed three criminal attacks on Israel’s territory,” Netanyahu said. “An attack from Gaza on the the city of Ashkelon and the Gaza Belt communities; an attack on IDF forces who were carrying out routine activity inside Israeli territory – and I stress, they were inside Israeli territory; and between these two, another attack from the Sinai on the city of Eilat, and the city of Aqaba in Jordan.”

“The use of a peace-seeking third country’s territory to launch missiles at Israel will not aid Hamas in evading responsibility,” he warned. “The government of Israel views gravely the attacks on its citizens – in an attempt to harm its relations with Egypt and Jordan. Whoever fires at Israel, no matter where he fires from, we will reach him and hit him with great force.”

“Immediately after the attack on Ashkelon,” the Prime Minister stated, “I instructed the IDF to respond decisively and it indeed did so. The IDF acted in Gaza, attacked Hamas facilities and killed a senior commander in Hamas’s military wing. Also yesterday, in the North, the IDF responded quickly and hit the Lebanese Army and its facilities.”

“I want to make clear to Hamas, and also to the government of Lebanon which we hold responsible for the violent provocation against our soldiers: do not test our determination to protect the citizens of Israel and its soldiers. Our policy is clear. Israel responds and will continue to respond forcibly to every attack against its citizens and soldiers. It seems someone understood this, and tried to evade responsibility for his crimes,” Netanyahu said, in a hint at Hamas’s evasion of responsibility for the missile attack on Ashkelon and Eilat.

“Three days after our retaliation in Gaza,” he said, “Grad missiles were fired from Sinai at Eilat and Aqaba by a supposedly anonymous agent. Several months earlier, on April 22, 2010, similar fire was carried out at Eilat. We investigated both of these incidents. We found beyond any doubt that a unit from Hamas’s military wing fired the missiles in stealth, in both cases.”

“Israel expects the international community to condemn such attacks in the strongest possible terms,” the prime minister said. “All those in the international community committed to peace should support Israel’s right to defend itself against those who attack the innocent and seek to destroy peace.”

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem August 1, 2010. (REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/Pool)

Prime Minister’s statement following recent security events

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAgPzvHviL0

“For years many in the international community have remained silent when rockets have been fired at Israeli civilians, and when unprovoked attacks have been launched against our soldiers. Expressions of outrage have largely been reserved for Israel’s response to those attacks. Firing missiles on civilians is a war crime, and unprovoked attacks on soldiers are blatant acts of aggression. Israel expects the international community to condemn such attacks in the strongest possible terms. All those in the international community committed to peace should support Israel’s right to defend itself against those who attack the innocent and seek to destroy peace.”

US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley labeled the Lebanese fire on IDF soldiers “wholly unjustified and unwarranted,” speaking at a briefing with reporters on Wednesday.

“The United Nations has now established that the trees cut by the Israeli Defense Forces were on the Israeli side of the line that separates Israel and Lebanon,” Crowley said. “The firing by the Lebanese Armed Forces was wholly unjustified and unwarranted.”

On Wednesday evening, UNIFIL held a special meeting with IDF and Lebanese army officials at the Nakoura crossing, toping off a day of furious diplomatic activity aimed at reducing tensions.

According to a statement from UNIFIL, its commander Maj.-Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas called the extraordinary tripartite meeting to address the serious situation that had developed, with the aim of preventing any recurrence.

In advance of the meeting, UNIFIL said it “expects the parties will address the issues in a constructive way and renew their commitment, as a matter of priority, to the cessation of hostilities, as well as fully utilize the liaison and coordination mechanism with UNIFIL with a view to ensuring that incidents of violence are avoided in the future.”

The statement said UNIFIL had been in constant contact with the parties throughout Wednesday, “urging them to exercise maximum restraint and cease firing, as well as to fully respect the Blue Line in line with their declared commitment to the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.”

In spite of UNIFIL’s supportive statement toward Israel on Wednesday, Israeli defense officials and diplomats were critical of its moves in advance of the shooting.

A vote on extending UNIFIL’s mandate is slated for late August and will likely pass without any problem. While Foreign Ministry officials said that Israel was not seeking changes to UNIFIL’s mandate, defense officials said they would use Tuesday’s border skirmish as well as intelligence on Hizbullah’s military buildup in southern Lebanese villages to argue that UNIFIL needed to be more aggressive.

The criticism of UNIFIL stemmed from pictures on Tuesday that showed peacekeepers standing alongside Lebanese soldiers, who, instead of working to stop the fire, appeared to call on Israel to stop clearing the brush, even though Israel had informed the UNIFIL men of the impending operation six hours earlier.

Diplomatic officials blamed this part of the incident on UNIFIL’s Indonesian contingent and said they were concerned.

One diplomatic source was worried about “Indonesia sympathies with the other side.”