Last update - 00:00 19/06/2007
UN Security Council condemns Sun. Katyusha attacks on Israel
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent in New York and DPA
The UN Security Council Monday unanimously joined UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in condemning the latest rocket attacks by Palestinian militants in Lebanon on Israel.
Echoing an earlier statement by Ban, the council called the firing of three Katyusha rockets by forces in south Lebanon a serious violation of the ceasefire and of resolutions by the council.
The 15-member council, which voted after an emergency session, also greeted the vow by the Lebanese government to track down the source and take steps against those responsible.
Israeli diplomatic sources expressed satisfation with the statement, which had been made at Israel's initiative and with strong support from the United States.
In an earlier statement, Ban called the attacks the most serious violation of the "blue line" between Lebanon and Israel since the end of last year's war in the region.
The attacks were "an attempt to destabilize the situation in Lebanon," Ban charged in a statement released by his spokesperson.
Ban said the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and Lebanon's armed forces had assured him they would "do their utmost to apprehend those responsible for this violation and will continue their close cooperation to prevent any further attacks."
The rockets were fired by militant Palestinians inside Lebanon, sources in the region said.
Lebanese security and Israel Defense Forces officials agreed that the rockets were fired by militant Palestinians.
While Israeli officials said only two rockets had landed inside Israel, near Kiryat Shomna on the border with Lebanon, a Lebanese army statement put the number at three.
After searching the area from which they were fired, a fourth rocket which was ready to be launched was also found, the Lebanese officials said.