UNIFIL commander Claudio Graziano announced his forces will do everything possible to rescue any Israel Air Force crew in the event a plane is shot down over Lebanon.

According to the report appearing in the Arabic al-Akhbar, published in Lebanon, the soldiers of the international force would attempt to reach a downed flight crew ahead of terrorists in the hope of preventing him from falling into captivity. If however the pilot is captured, there is nothing that would be done by the UNIFIL force.

Issuing a benign statement, UN officials stated that the force is committed to the enforcement of Resolution 1701, and to saving lives. That said, the statement denied the accuracy of the UNIFIL commander’s words, explaining the force is bound to turn over any foreign soldier to Lebanese army officials.

Hizbullah television did not waste time, airing the details of the incident, stating the UN body may not intercede on behalf of Israel since it does not have the right to defend a hostile force crossing into sovereign Lebanese airspace. The terrorist-run TV also used the story to remind viewers how Hizbullah succeeded in ousting Israel’s defense minister and IDF chief of staff during the Second Lebanon War.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)