Lebanese President Michel Aoun (R) meets with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix at Baabda Palace, near Beirut, Lebanon, on July 26, 2021. (Photo by Lebanon’s National News Agency)

Beirut, July 27 (RHC)-- Lebanese President Michel Aoun has called on the United Nations to compel the Tel Aviv regime to implement Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 33-day-long Israeli military onslaught on the country in the summer of 2006 and demands respect for Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

During a meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix at Baabda Palace on Monday, Aoun condemned Israel’s frequent violations of Lebanon’s airspace, especially recent ones, through raids against Syrian territories.

The Lebanese president reiterated Beirut’s commitment to Resolution 1701, calling on the UN to pressure Israel into abiding by the resolution.  Aoun also praised the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) as one of the exemplary and successful missions at the level of peacekeeping operations in the world.

“Beirut desires to extend the mandate of international forces operating in southern Lebanon, without any modifications in their number and role. Despite tensions running high in the region, Lebanon’s southern borders have been enjoying calm and stability since the end of the July 2006 war,” he noted.

Lacroix, for his part, highlighted that UNIFIL will continue to monitor implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, lauding the close cooperation between the Lebanese Army and international forces.

Israel violates Lebanon's airspace on an almost daily basis, claiming the flights serve surveillance purposes.  Lebanon's government, the Hezbollah resistance movement and UNIFIL have repeatedly condemned the overflights, saying they are in clear violation of UN Resolution 1701 and the country's sovereignty. 

Back in April last year, Lebanon lodged a complaint to the United Nation against the Tel Aviv regime for violating the country's airspace after Israeli military aircraft carried out airstrikes on multiple targets in Syria’s central province of Homs.