UNIFIL should give Lebanon missiles to stop Israeli airspace violations: Shiite cleric

Lebanon's top Shiite cleric has called on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to provide the Lebanese army with weapons to stop Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace, the Daily Star reported on Friday.

"Israel is still violating our skies without taking UNIFIL's role into consideration," Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, one of the world's top Shiite Muslim clerics, was quoted as saying.

"UNIFIL should provide the army with surface-to-air missiles so it will be able to prevent any Israeli violation of Lebanon's airspace," he said.

Fadlallah also expressed opposition to foreign interference in Lebanon's affairs, which he warned might create conflicts in the country and complicate relations among the Lebanese.

"We do not accept any international or regional tutelage," the cleric said.

Israel launched an offensive against Lebanese Hezbollah after the guerrilla group captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in the July 12 cross-border raid.

The Jewish country has continued to carry out flights over the Lebanese territory despite a UN-brokered ceasefire on Aug. 14.

UN peacekeepers and Lebanon say that Israeli overflights violate UN Security Council Resolution 1701 on ending the monthlong conflict, which calls for an expanded UN force in south Lebanon to help police the volatile border between Israel and Lebanon.

However, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz has claimed that such flights would continue to ensure that weapons are not smuggled into southern Lebanon from Syria to resupply Hezbollah guerrilla.

Source: Xinhua