Responding to a question from the National News Agency about the serious violations of the Blue Line in the past week and what was UNIFIL’s role, UNIFIL spokesperosn Andrea Tenenti said: ‘UNIFIL’s presence and deconfliction along the Blue Line has helped maintain an unprecedented seventeen years of security and stability. We have seen clear examples of this last week, where a new dirt road built by the Israel Defense Forces that crossed the Blue Line near Bastarra was removed, and just yesterday, when a structure that had been built by Lebanese individuals south of the Blue Line near Ayta ash-Shaab was removed. Both violations were promptly solved through effective coordination by UNIFIL.’ He added, ‘In both incidents, despite their differences, the parties recognized the problem and worked through UNIFIL to resolve it. This show both Lebanon and Israel’s respect for the sanctity of the Blue Line, their desire to avoid escalation, and their willingness to work with UNIFIL to resolve difficult issues.’ ‘Through our liaison and coordination mechanisms and our peacekeepers monitoring and reporting from the ground, UNIFIL continues working to create the space for a permanent political and diplomatic solution,’ said Tenenti.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon