Mideast situation/Lebanon – Letter from Israel

Letter dated 13 July 2000 from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I wish to reiterate the commitment by Israel to correct what the United Nations considered to be infrastructure violations by Israel of the line of withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon.

This commitment stems from the desire of the Government of Israel to cooperate fully with the United Nations in ensuring the integrity of the “line of withdrawal”, and is based upon Israel’s understanding that there are no further claims regarding infrastructure locations along the line.

The Government of Israel trusts that the Secretary-General, as well as the officials of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), will be no less attentive to the constantly increasing number of violations of the line by Lebanon, as detailed in my letter to you dated 6 July 2000 (A/54/936-S/2000/661), and will take up these violations with the Government of Lebanon. Attached, in the annex to the present letter, is an updated list of these violations.

In addition, I wish to draw your attention to several territorial encroachments, in which extensive tracts of land on the Israeli side of the line are being used by Lebanese citizens for agricultural and other purposes, despite the clear fact that these areas are within Israeli territory, as indicated by the United Nations map of the “line of withdrawal” as presented to Israel on 6 July 2000. A list of these infractions is also attached in the annex to this letter. We trust that the Secretariat and the Security Council will duly take note of the above.

With the corrections made by Israel at the above-noted infrastructure locations along the line, the Government of Israel considers that there can be no reason for delaying the full implementation of Security Council resolution 425 (1978), including the deployment of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, to assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area and in restoring international peace and security.

It should be recalled that the Secretary-General, in his report (S/2000/590), noted commitments expressed to him by the Government of Lebanon regarding deploying Lebanon’s armed forces “as soon as I have confirmed Israel’s withdrawal in compliance with Security Council resolution 425 (1978)” (para. 38). At the conclusion of the report, the Secretary-General did confirm Israel’s withdrawal as specified (para. 40). Moreover, the Security Council, in its presidential statement of 18 June 2000 (S/PRST/2000/21), endorsed the Secretary-General’s confirmation, and called upon the Government of Lebanon “to proceed with the deployment of the Lebanese armed forces as soon as possible, with the assistance of UNIFIL, into the Lebanese territory recently vacated by Israel”.

Israel has completed the withdrawal pursuant to resolution 425 (1978), as confirmed by the Secretary-General and the Security Council. It is now incumbent on the other parties, chiefly the Government of Lebanon, to fulfil their commitments pursuant to the resolution.

I should be grateful if you would have the text of the present letter and its annex circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 43, and of the Security Council.

Annex to the letter dated 13 July 2000 from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

Lebanese territorial encroachments

Following is a partial list of instances of Lebanese encroachments on Israeli territory, involving Lebanese appropriation of land that is decidedly on the Israeli side of the withdrawal line. In particular, Lebanese individuals have cultivated Israeli territory in a number of locations on the Israeli side, among them:

Additional Lebanese violations — updated

5 July 2000 — At 15:50 hours some 60 individuals from the Lebanese side of the border attacked a group of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on the Israeli side, just south of the Phatma Gate, with a barrage of stones.

5 July — At 18:40 hours 10 individuals from the Lebanese side pelted a group of IDF soldiers on the Israeli side, in the vicinity of the Phatma Gate, with heavy objects.

5 July — At 18:44 hours 20 people from the Lebanese side attacked a group of IDF soldiers just south of the Phatma Gate with a barrage of stones.

5 July — At 20:17 hours approximately five individuals from the Lebanese side hurled objects at IDF soldiers just south of the Phatma Gate.

5 July — At 22:44 hours six individuals from the Lebanese side threw objects at IDF soldiers on the Israeli side, in the vicinity of the Phatma Gate.

6 July — At 12:57 hours five buses and four private cars from the Lebanese side drove to a point on the border opposite an IDF observation post near the Phatma Gate. Individuals stepped out of the vehicles and hurled objects towards the border fence.

6 July — At 13:12 hours some 200 people from the Lebanese side gathered near the border fence in the vicinity of the Phatma Gate and hurled stones at the fence.

6 July — At 17:57 hours individuals from the Lebanese side threw objects at an IDF observation post on the Israeli side just south of the Phatma Gate.

6 July — At 19:18 hours some 10 to 12 individuals from the Lebanese side hurled heavy objects at an IDF observation post and at a group of IDF soldiers on the Israeli side just south of the Phatma Gate.

6 July — At 21:59 hours individuals from the Lebanese side pelted an IDF observation post with stones, in the vicinity of the Phatma Gate.

7 July — At 10:25 hours some 20 people from the Lebanese side hurled objects at an IDF observation point just south of the Phatma Gate.

7 July — At 11:42 hours some 50 individuals from the Lebanese side threw objects at an IDF observation point near the Phatma Gate.

7 July — At 12:58 hours some 40 people from the Lebanese hurled stones at an IDF observation point near the Phatma Gate.

7 July — At 14:40 hours individuals from the Lebanese side (AMR: 20304/29868) threw objects at an IDF observation point at the Phatma Gate, then joined a larger crowd of individuals on the Lebanese side hurling objects across the border.

7 July — At 14:55 hours some 200 people from the Lebanese side hurled heavy objects at Israeli soldiers on the Israeli side in the vicinity of the Phatma Gate.

7 July — At 19:45 hours civilian workers on the Israeli side just south of the Phatma Gate were attacked with stones hurled from the Lebanese side.

8 July — At 10:23 hours two armed individuals from the Lebanese side, carrying an equipment belt and visible guns, tried to open a gate in the border fence 100 metres east of B-17 (AMR: 17063/27827).

8 July — At 10:31 hours four individuals from the Lebanese side hurled heavy objects at a group of IDF soldiers in the vicinity of the Phatma Gate.

8 July — At 10:55 hours several individuals from the Lebanese side pelted Israeli soldiers with stones, at an area 2.5 kilometres south-east of the village of Shuba.

8 July — At 12:03 hours 15 people from the Lebanese side hurled objects at IDF soldiers near the Phatma Gate.

8 July — At 12:34 hours a large pipe was thrown by a number of individuals from the Lebanese side at IDF soldiers at the Phatma Gate.

8 July — At 14:45 hours an individual from the Lebanese side inflicted damage on the border fence 250 metres from the Phatma Gate (B-85).

8 July — At 15:01 hours some 10 individuals from the Lebanese side hurled heavy objects at IDF soldiers just south of the Phatma Gate.

8 July — At 18:03 hours 10 individuals from the Lebanese side threw objects at IDF soldiers near the Phatma Gate.

8 July — At 18:06 hours an armed person from the Lebanese side, wearing a uniform and brandishing weapons, threw objects at the border fence at BP-14 (AMR: 183988/273487) and damaged IDF equipment in the area.

8 July — At 22:34 hours a group of IDF soldiers in the vicinity of the Phatma Gate were pelted with stones thrown from the Lebanese side.

8 July — At 23:52 hours IDF soldiers who were repairing the fence at the Phatma Gate, that had been damaged earlier by individuals from the Lebanese side, were attacked with stones thrown from a rooftop in the village of Kile on the Lebanese side.

9 July — At 1:15 hours IDF soldiers at the Phatma Gate were pelted with objects hurled from the Lebanese side.

9 July — At 7:07 hours IDF soldiers just south of the Phatma Gate were pelted with bags thrown from the Lebanese side.

9 July — Between 10:27 and 16:32 hours 50 people from the Lebanese side hurled heavy objects at IDF soldiers just south of the Phatma Gate. One individual attempted to cut the border fence.

9 July — At 11:32 hours an individual from the Lebanese side penetrated into Israeli territory two kilometres east of the village of Rajar, where there is no border fence, then retreated back to Lebanon.

9 July — At 12:49 hours several individuals from the Lebanese side threw objects into Israel two kilometres east of the village of Rajar.

9 July — At 13:33 hours a group of IDF soldiers were pelted with stones thrown from the Lebanese side, in the vicinity of the Phatma Gate.

9 July — At 13:42 hours five individuals from the Lebanese side hurled objects at IDF soldiers just south of the Phatma Gate.

9 July — At 14:59 hours individuals from the Lebanese side threw objects over the border just south of BP-37 (AMR: 201503/295452).

9 July — At 16:32 hours an individual attempted to cut the border fence just south of the Phatma Gate (AMR: 20323/29778).

9 July — At 19:23 hours individuals from the Lebanese side threw objects at the border fence at B-26 (AMR: 177093/278733).

12 July — At 11:08 hours 15 individuals from the Lebanese side pelted an IDF observation point with stones in the vicinity of the Phatma Gate.

12 July — At 13:19 hours IDF soldiers at an observation point in the vicinity of the Phatma Gate were attacked with objects hurled by four individuals from the Lebanese side.

12 July — At 17:00 hours seven individuals from the Lebanese side attacked an IDF observation point in the vicinity of the Phatma gate with metal rods.

12 July — At 19:07 hours four individuals from the Lebanese side hurled heavy objects at IDF soldiers and at an IDF observation point near the Phatma Gate.

12 July — At 20:03 hours one armed individual from the Lebanese side joined several others in hurling objects across the border to the Israeli side (at location AMR: 17063/27827-W119).