Lebanon avoids Israeli Blue Line skirmish

BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 15 (UPI) -- Israeli and Lebanese forces narrowly avoided confrontation over the presence of an Israeli observation post in a village near the so-called Blue Line.

Lebanese armed forces arrived at a waterway in the southern border village of Kfar Shuba "fully equipped" for battle with Israeli forces, the Arabic-language National News Agency reports.

The confrontation centered around an Israeli observation post close to the Blue Line in southern Lebanon.

The United Nations demarcated the Blue Line in 2000 in order to determine whether Israeli forces had withdrawn completely from Lebanese territory.

Lebanese military officials had requested the assistance of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon to help remove the Israeli post.

Andrea Tenenti, a representative for UNIFIL, told the Lebanese Daily Star, however, that Kfar Shuba was outside of its jurisdiction.

"We have no presence there," she said. "It's an issue that has been going on for several weeks and we've been working with both parties to solve the problem."

Beirut has lodged several official complaints to the United Nations regarding Israeli violations, notably for incursions into Lebanese territorial waters.

The Lebanese military, meanwhile, reported that an unmanned Israeli drone entered Lebanese airspace for several hours during the weekend.