Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., January 11, 2008 Shvat 4, 5768 | | Israel Time: 17:45 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Rosner's Domain
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Advertising
Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File
UNIFIL soldiers inspecting a fallen Katyusha rocket in Shlomi Tuesday. (Yaron Kaminsky)
Last update - 22:18 08/01/2008
Siniora vows to UN chief to probe Katyusha fire at Israel
Tags: Lebanon, Katyusha, Galilee

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday that Lebanon would investigate the firing of two Katyusha rockets from Lebanon earlier in the day.

Siniora, who is currently in Abu Dhabi, spoke with the UN head over the phone.

Siniora maintained that those behind the firing "want to harm the security in South Lebanon." The UN force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) told Haaretz that they too were investigating the firing, attempting to locate where the rockets were launched.
Advertisement
Earlier Tuesday, Israel filed a severe complaint with the United Nations Security Council and with Ban over the Katyusha firing.

The rockets struck the western Galilee town of Shlomi early Tuesday morning, causing no injuries. One of the rockets lightly damaged a house, and the second hit a street in the twon. Army Radio reported that the second rocket damaged an electricity pole.

The complaint called the rocket fire a severe violation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought the Second Lebanon War to an end.

According to the complaint, the rocket fire was additional evidence the resolution has yet to be fully implemented and therefore there is still a threat to Israel and to UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon - two of whom were lightly wounded Tuesday in an attack on their vehicle.

Israel called on the UN force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese government to take immediate action in light of the rocket fire.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak termed the rocket fire as "grave," but said that Israel would not make any changes to the status quo in the north as a response.

"We will learn what happened together with the army officers, we'll think and decide how to act," Barak said.

A senior figure in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party said the attack was carried out to "heat up" the region in advance of President George W. Bush's visit this week to Israel.

Israel holds the Lebanese government responsible for the rocket attacks, according to Kadima MK Yaakov Edri, the minister for the development of the Negev and the Galilee.

"We must remember that there is a multinational force operating in Lebanon, whose role is to prevent this kind of fire," Edri said. "It seems that militant groups are trying to heat up the area and their intention is to remind of their existence during U.S. President George W. Bush's visit."

Bush is to arrive in Jerusalem Wednesday for a three-day visit.

In Beirut, Hezbollah declined comment on the incident. A senior Lebanese military officer told The Associated Press that the report was "baseless and completely fabricated." He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the incident with the media.

UNIFIL, which reinforced its presence after the end of the Second Lebanon War in 2006, said it was investigating the incident. "In the meantime, we can't confirm or deny the Israeli claims," said Yasmina Bouziane, a UNIFIL spokeswoman.

Several Palestinian militant groups have a presence in Lebanon and have at times launched attacks across the border.

The Israel Defense Forces initially said it was old ordnance that exploded in Shlomi, but later confirmed, along with the police, that the two Katyushas were fired early Tuesday from Lebanon.

"We can confirm that a 122 mm Katyusha rocket was fired into the north of Israel from Lebanon last night," police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said.

Army Radio reports said the rockets struck Shlomi at approximately 2 A.M. Tuesday. "Several residents said that they thought it was thunder," Gabi Na'aman, head of the Shlomi local council, told Army Radio.

"This morning, we woke up and discovered they were Katyushas," he continued, referring to the rockets often fired by Hezbollah at northern Israel, which have a longer range and more explosive impact than the Qassam rockets fired by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

In June 2007, two Katyusha rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon, the first rockets to hit Israel since the Second Lebanon War the year before.

One of the rockets struck a factory in the Kiryat Shmona industrial center, and the second one hit an open field. The rockets caused damage, but no injuries. Military sources believed those rockets were not fired by Hezbollah, but a Sunni group in Lebanon.

During the 2006 war, Hezbollah bombarded northern Israel with nearly 4,000 rockets.

Related articles:
  • One year later, rockets return to Kiryat Shmona
  • Analysis: Katyusha in Ashkelon / The other side is cautious too
  • A year after war, tourism to North still licking its wounds
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    'Body of 2008'
    A U.K. men's magazine pays homage to Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli.
    Echoes of Thessaloniki
    A book on Sarkozy's Greek-Jewish roots goes on sale in Greece.
      1.   Now that the world attention is riveted on Israel/Bush 09:29  |  Stephen. 08/01/08
      2.   Hezbollah still trying to provoke Israeli response 09:38  |  Marwan مروان خوري 08/01/08
      3.   Nero fiddles while Rome burns 10:03  |  Norm 08/01/08
      4.   Can we imagine, how things might develop if ... 10:22  |  Sharif Hafez 08/01/08
      5.   Another peace initiative? 10:35  |  Bo 08/01/08
      6.   Perfidious "state" of Lebanon should be destroyed 10:44  |  Absolute Sweden 08/01/08
      7.   Again the Israelis sit and take it 10:45  |  George 08/01/08
      8.   For all the Arab apologists 11:21  |  RF 08/01/08
      9.   ISRAEL WILL RETALIATE WITH CLUSTER BOMBS SOON 11:23  |  indrajaya 08/01/08
      10.   hizballah knows that this is too small to provvoke 11:29  |  rafi 08/01/08
      11.   #2, MORON , I MEAN MARWAN 11:33  |  VIPER 08/01/08
      12.   Deja-Voodoo 11:46  |  FOX 08/01/08
      13.   Limited response 11:53  |  Shlomo from Tel-Aviv 08/01/08
      14.   Looking for our explosive point 11:58  |  יש גבול 08/01/08
      15.   too much going on 11:58  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 08/01/08
      16.   #11, VIPER 12:06  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 08/01/08
      17.   #11 SLIMEBALL, I mean viper 12:09  |  Joe Moer 08/01/08
      18.   hizballah is in effect standing behind 12:17  |  rafi 08/01/08
      19.   deserved 12:17  |  nicolas 08/01/08
      20.   hizballah has rockets the bbc and cnn in its arsenal 12:23  |  rafi 08/01/08
      21.   War to the last tick of recorded time 12:35  |  Clickfool 08/01/08
      22.   Fair suggestion but 12:40  |  H 08/01/08
      23.   nicolas - why do you lie? 13:00  |  ChanahS 08/01/08
      24.   Who says it was Hezbollah? 13:15  |  Chris Linthwaite 08/01/08
      25.   #14, "looking for our explosive point" 13:16  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 08/01/08
      26.   #9 indrajaya 13:28  |  danny 08/01/08
      27.   #22 Was for Indrajaya 13:32  |  H 08/01/08
      28.   nicolas 13:34  |  danny 08/01/08
      29.   "War to the last tick of recorded time" 13:53  |  Lynn 08/01/08
      30.   Israel is the only one that gains from attacks during Bush visit 13:56  |  Natallie Durson 08/01/08
      31.   Vipe- like comments will prove Arabs cannot tolerate peace 14:04  |  The Equalizer 08/01/08
      32.   Killing Pals daily 14:21  |  Dav 08/01/08
      33.   Missiles from Lebanon 14:34  |  Hilda 08/01/08
      34.   HOW ABOUT VIOLATING THE AIRSPACE OF OTHER COUNTRIES? NOT GRAVE? 14:34  |  TrippleJump 08/01/08
      35.   30: Natalie still in la-la land. So sad 14:50  |  David Teich 08/01/08
      36.   11: Viper making an asp of himself yet again 14:53  |  David Teich 08/01/08
      37.   Clickfool, say what?? 15:03  |  Ben 08/01/08
      38.   Sharif Hafez of Egypt 15:13  |  Lynn 08/01/08
      39.   # 11 VIPER....no, they do not 15:17  |  Lynn 08/01/08
      40.   # 22. H. Served on a silver platter. 15:17  |  Stephen. 08/01/08
      41.   # 30 Durson...on gains 15:22  |  Lynn 08/01/08
      42.   Who is gaining, Natalie? 15:25  |  Simon 08/01/08
      43.   UN Vehicle blown up in Beiruit 15:26  |  Chris Linthwaite 08/01/08
      44.   # 32 Dav....that`s what happens when 15:29  |  Lynn 08/01/08
      45.   Daisy Cutter 15:33  |  Ron 08/01/08
      46.   # 9 Indy. Do you think they should? 15:33  |  Stephen. 08/01/08
      47.   Blaming Lebanese government? 15:41  |  Brod 08/01/08
      48.   Shlomo of Tel Aviv...leave Beirut out 15:45  |  Lynn 08/01/08
      49.   #24 chris and the myth continue apace 15:50  |  victor hardman 08/01/08
      50.   # 32 Killing Pals daily, BETTER THEM THAN US 15:55  |  Petra 08/01/08
      51.   grave but no response equals graveyard 16:05  |  Imp O. Tent 08/01/08
      52.   chris linthwaite # 24 there;s no difference between hezbullah 16:05  |  terrornator 08/01/08
      53.   Can you read, "Ben" in "Brighton"? # 37 16:09  |  Clickfool 08/01/08
      54.   lynn # 39 Re.viper,thats what chicken s88t cowards usually do, 16:13  |  terrornator 08/01/08
      55.   this is the very reason iran should be bombed back to the 7th 16:19  |  terrornator 08/01/08
      56.   # 49 actually the arabs/muslims started attacking in the 6th 16:21  |  terrornator 08/01/08
      57.   Who dunnit? 16:41  |  Tosefta 08/01/08
      58.   government of lebanon to blame?? 16:54  |  lackluster 08/01/08
      59.   #9 Indrajaya 16:58  |  * BEN JABO 08/01/08
      60.   To clickfool #53 in response to Ben #37 17:06  |  Danalogue 08/01/08
      61.   Making fun, blowing up your house wouldn`t be such fun 17:10  |  Settler Babe 08/01/08
      62.   to Fox and your deja-vu comments 17:24  |  TAZ 08/01/08
      63.   No wonder Arabs worship the UN 17:25  |  Fortuna Benmayor 08/01/08
      64.   Irrelevant "who" fired the missiles, it was Arab terrorists. 17:30  |  David 08/01/08
      65.   #24-2 Linthwaite - What is the excuse for the 17:35  |  * BEN JABO 08/01/08
      66.   #34 Tripple Jump (remember it`s a social disease) 17:37  |  * BEN JABO 08/01/08
      67.   #52 Terrornator 17:39  |  Chris Linthwaite 08/01/08
      68.   # 59, BEN JABO 18:04  |  indrajaya 08/01/08
      69.   what do you expect...? 18:04  |  ravi 08/01/08
      70.   chris # 62 sorry,but