Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, accused the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon of violating its mission on Thursday after it shot down an Israeli drone.
Danon told JNS exclusively that a letter sent on Monday from Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the U.N. under-secretary-general for peace operations, about the UNIFIL shootdown of the drone was “an admission of violating the mandate given to it by the Security Council, and is a violation of Resolution 1701.”
“UNIFIL was established to oversee the disarmament of Hezbollah and prevent attacks on Israel, but it has long ceased to fulfill its mission,” Danon told JNS. “Israel will continue to act decisively against any terrorist element that threatens its citizens and expects that the UNIFIL force, so long as it is stationed in Southern Lebanon, focuses on the mandate given to it and not overstep its responsibilities.”
“The U.N. has violated its mandate,” he said. “UNIFIL’s time is up.”
UNIFIL shot down the Israeli drone on Sunday near the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, close to the Israel-Lebanon border.
In his letter, Lacroix claimed that the drone was “flying in an aggressive manner” and that the peacekeepers “applied proportional and minimal force to neutralize the drone.”
After the shootdown, a second Israeli drone dropped a grenade “toward the area where the drone fell,” according to Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, the Israel Defense Forces international spokesman.
“It should be emphasized that no fire was directed at UNIFIL forces,” Shoshani stated. “The incident is being further reviewed through military coordination channels.”
