Beirut, March 22: An Israeli reconnaissance plane has penetrated Lebanese airspace and flown over southern part of the country in clear violation of a UN Security Council resolution.
The Israeli aircraft crossed into Lebanese airspace over the village of al-Naqoura, located 91 kilometers (57 miles) south of the capital Beirut, at 1:30 a.m. local time (1030 GMT) on Monday and conducted several unwarranted flights, a statement released by the Lebanese military said.
The remote-controlled drone left Lebanese airspace at 6:25 p.m. local time (1525 GMT) while flying over the southern sector of the country.
Israel violates Lebanon’s airspace on an almost daily basis, claiming the flights serve surveillance purposes.
Lebanon’s government, the Hezbollah resistance movement, and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, have repeatedly cited Israel’s air surveillance flights over Lebanon as flagrant violations of UN resolution 1701 and the country’s sovereignty.
UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which brokered a ceasefire in the war of aggression Israel launched against Lebanon in 2006, calls on Israel to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
——–Agencies