| 30 Oct 2009 |
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Al-Qaeda group claims rocket fire from Lebanon
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30 October 2009
BEIRUT: A Lebanese group with links to Al-Qaeda on Thursday claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s rocket attack on Israel, saying it was to avenge Tel Aviv’s crackdown on Palestinians protesting at a religious site earlier this month. The claim was made by little-known “Battalions of Ziyad Jarrah” on a website popular with Islamic groups, but could not be verified by The Daily Star for authenticity.
The rocket, launched from the village of Houla in southern Lebanon, landed in Kiryat Shmona, a border town in northern Israel. The incident was the fifth time rockets have been launched across the border from Lebanon this year and prompted the Israeli army to return fire with artillery rounds. There were no reports of damage or casualties on either side.
The Battalions of Ziyad Jarrah, named after a young Lebanese man who helped mastermind the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, has claimed responsibility for cross-border attacks on Israel in the past.
On Thursday, United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams expressed “concern” over the recent rocket attack, saying the incident could lead to a “dramatic” increase in tensions.
“We are very concerned over the security situation in the south because now there have been several incidences over the past two or three weeks,” he said referring to an earlier rocket attack on September 11 and the explosion of a suspected arms cache in the southern town of Khirbet Silim in July.
“This is too much and with every incident there is the risk, the danger, that somebody could be injured or God forbid, that somebody could be killed, and then the tension could rise dramatically,” he told reporters after a meeting with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab.
Williams added that since the end of a 34-day war with Israel in 2006, “the cessation of hostilities has held very well, but incidences like this put [that] at risk.
The rocket attack also prompted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to call for “maximum restraint” between Israel and Lebanon, which technically remain at war.
“The secretary general condemns the firing of a rocket against Israel from southern Lebanon on October 27,” a statement from Ban’s office quoted him as saying on Wednesday.
UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL was “investigating the circumstances of the incident in cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces,” Ban said. “The secretary general urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint. All parties must fully adhere to Security Council Resolution 1701 and respect the cessation of hostilities agreement,” he added.
The Battalions of Ziyad Jarrah group said the rocket attack took place after one of five rockets it had installed in Houla launched prematurely, forcing its members to retreat without removing the remaining rockets. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) said on Wednesday it had uncovered and deactivated the four rockets. Three of the four 107-millimeter rockets were ready for launch, media reports said.
UNIFIL, which was redeployed and expanded in Lebanon following the 2006 war, was continuing to investigate the incident with the LAF, UNIFIL spokesperson Yasmina Bouziane said.
“UNIFIL continues to do its upmost to ensure the full respect of the relevant provisions of Resolution 1701, and that includes taking all necessary action with close cooperation with the LAF to ensure that the area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind,” Bouziane told The Daily Star.
© Copyright The Daily Star 2009.
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