EU calls for halt to attacks against Israel's northern border
EU chief speaks after Hezbollah hit two Israeli military vehicles with anti-tank missiles, killing two IDF soldiers and wounding seven on the Israeli side of the Lebanese border.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFBurning vehicles are seen near the village of Ghajar on Israel's border with Lebanon, January 28, 2015(photo credit: REUTERS)
The European Union called on Hezbollah and any other group to stop attacking Israel along its northern border warning that such violence threatened to break the 2006 cease-fire with Israel.“The threats to Israel on its Northern border must stop,” the EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Wednesday.She spoke after Hezbollah hit two Israeli military vehicles with anti-tank missiles, killing two IDF soldiers and wounding seven on the Israeli side of the Lebanese border, near the village of Ghajar.A Spanish peacekeeper from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon was killed in that area during Israel’s retaliatory attack.“The attacks on the Lebanese-Israeli border are undermining the cessation of hostilities established by UNSC Resolution 1701 and the peace building efforts along the Blue Line [a UN border demarcation set in 2000]," she said.Mogherini called for an immediate end to all violence, which she warned could be detrimental to the region.“We extend our sincere condolences to the families of the Israeli soldiers and of the deceased member of UNIFIL,” she said.“The EU reiterates its full support for the UNIFIL mission, the Lebanese Army and the Government and the people of Lebanon in much needed efforts to maintain peace and stability in Lebanon in these dramatic times for the country,” Mogherini added.Great Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond similarly offered his condolences to Israel and Spain.“We urge all sides to exercise maximum restraint and prevent further escalation,” he said.
