UNIFIL Commander Major General Luciano Portolano: 'Israel must pull out of Lebanon's Ghajar area'.

UNIFIL Commander Major General Luciano Portolano: 'Israel must pull out of Lebanon's Ghajar area'. (Pressstv).

Israel is obliged to withdraw from the northern part of the village of Ghajar, on the border between Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights, as well as surrounding areas, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) says.

UNIFIL Commander Major General Luciano Portolano said in an interview on Wednesday that Israel must retreat from the Ghajar village as well as the areas adjacent to the Blue Line, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, the Naharnet reported.

The Blue Line is a border demarcation between occupied Palestinian territories and Lebanon determined by the UN.

Israel’s presence in the area violates resolution 1701, Portolano said, stressing that the matter is “nonnegotiable as the territory is Lebanese.”

“We have been firm in discussing the issue during all our bilateral and tripartite meetings with Israel,” Portolano said.

Resolution 1701, which brokered a ceasefire in the war of aggression Israel launched on Lebanon in 2006, calls on Tel Aviv to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The resolution stresses that Israel should end violations of Lebanon's airspace, and respect the Blue Line.

The Lebanese government, resistance movement of Hezbollah and the UNIFIL, have repeatedly condemned Israel for violating UN Resolution 1701 and the Lebanese territorial integrity. Hmmmm......Rumor has it Israel responded by saying 'Make us move'.

Turkey withdraws troops from UNIFIL mission in south Lebanon.

Turkey withdraws troops from UNIFIL mission in south Lebanon.(TOI).

Turkey is set to withdraw most of its troops serving in south Lebanon as part of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in charge of monitoring peace and security along the Israel-Lebanon border. Turkey’s Engineering Construction Unit, composed of 280 soldiers, will be withdrawn by September, a UNIFIL spokesperson announced Friday.

“The withdrawal will be completed by the first week of September while Turkish troops will continue to serve in the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force,” UNIFIL Spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said.Fifty-eight Turkish troops currently serve in the task force.

“The Turkish Engineering Construction Unit started serving with the UNIFIL in 2006 and has since provided great support to the troops for its experience and expertise,” Tenenti noted, adding that “what matters is that the UNIFIL is capable of maintaining its power on ground to efficiently complete its mission.”

Ankara’s decision came less than a day after two Turkish Airlines pilots were kidnapped in Beirut early Friday morning, prompting the Turkish Foreign Ministry to call on all Turkish citizens to leave Lebanon and to issue an advisory against Lebanon-bound travel.

The UNIFIL spokesman said the events were unrelated.

The two Turkish men were named as Murat Akpinar and Murat Agga, according to a report in the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper.

Lebanon’s state news agency said a Shiite group called the Zuwaar al-Imam Rida claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. The group, which was previously unknown, said in a statement carried by the National News Agency that the pilots “will only be released when the Lebanese hostages in Syria return.”

Turkey has become a frequent target of criticism from the relatives of the remaining hostages, in part because the Syrian rebels operate near the Turkish border. Ankara is a fierce critic of the Assad regime, and has offered both covert and open support to the rebels trying to overthrow him.

A representative for the Lebanese hostages’ families denied that there was any link between Friday’s kidnapping and the captives in Syria. However, Sheik Abbas Zougheib of the Higher Shiite Councils said that if the kidnapping “is to settle the question of Lebanese abducted in Syria, we support it,” according to Lebanon’s state news agency.

A senior Lebanese official told Reuters earlier in the week that relatives of the kidnapped Shiites were allegedly planning on abducting Turks as bargaining chips.Hmmmmm........As the saying go's 'Empty Barrels make the most noise', even the French don't run that fast.Read the full story here.