Lebanese PM urges UN to prevent Israeli exploitation of oil fields; UN chief spokesman says no maritime border delineation in resolution 1701.
By JPOST.COM STAFFhariri saad 298 ap(photo credit: AP)
Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri on Sunday asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to put more pressure on Israel to cease border violations and exploitation of Lebanese oil and gas resources, Reuters reported.The request came less than a week after Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali Shami sent a letter to Ban urging him to "prevent Israel from exploiting Lebanon's oil and maritime wealth." Israel denied all allegations that drilling had extended into Lebanese oil fields.RELATED:Lebanon to UN: Protect our gas from Israeli drillingIsrael: Lebanon violating UN resolution 1701Analysis: Shi'ite missiles, Zionist cows, and the Lebanese ArmyIn a meeting with the UN chief, Hariri continued by insisting on a complete "implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701." Hariri continued by requesting "the utmost pressure on Israel to cease its violations in the air, on land and at sea," a Lebanese official told Reuters.UN Security Council resolution 1701 was approved on August 11, 2006 and was drafted in order to resolve the Second Lebanon War. The demands included Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, Hizbullah's disarmament, and a removal of paramilitary forces, including Hizbullah, from south of the Litani River. Since the passing of the resolution, Israel, Lebanon, and Hizbullah representative have made claims that one side had not kept up to the demands made. On July 14, 2009 a weapons cache exploded within the village of Hirbet Selm, which lies south of the Litani River and some 20 kilometers north of the Israel-Lebanon border.On Tuesday August 3rd, 2010 Lebanese and Israeli forces exchanged fire along the border after Lebanese forces began shelling an Israeli patrol it claimed had uprooted a tree which lied on the Lebanese side. Both then-Lebanese president Michel Suleiman and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman attested that the other country had violated resolution 1701.
