TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Israel has insisted on continuing its flights over Lebanon despite United Nations' protests.
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz Thursday told the European Union's foreign policy coordinator Javier Solana that the flights would continue as long as the two soldiers Hezbollah abducted in July are not returned and there is no satisfactory supervision of the Syrian-Lebanese border.
Israeli intelligence maintains Syria has resumed arms deliveries to Hezbollah thereby violating the U.N. embargo on arms transfers to any group other than UNIFIL and the Lebanese army. The military intelligence recently reported its assessment to the Cabinet and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told it to obtain proof.
Foreign naval units monitor Lebanon's coast and inspectors have been checking air cargo, but the Syrian-Lebanese border is some 200 miles long and there is no fence.
Israel wants close supervision of the nine border crossings, especially to prevent medium and long-range missiles from reaching Hezbollah.
UNIFIL has protested the Israeli flights, and its commander, Maj. Gen. Alain Pellegrini of France, has expressed "serious concern" over their increasing number.
Almost all the UNIFIL battalions have reported such flights in their area of operations and Pellegrini maintained they violated U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended the last war and provided for UNIFIL's expanded mandate.
Peretz said the resolution has not been fully implemented and therefore the flights will continue. It is an Israeli security need, he told Solana.
Recently Israeli fighter planes buzzed a French naval vessel off the Lebanese coast and Tuesday F-16s flew near a German ship arousing the crew's fear that the pilots fired missiles at them and missed.
According to the Israeli army's spokeswoman, a helicopter took off from the German ship near the Israeli-Lebanese border "without the required coordination" and the fighter planes were sent over to check.
