UN troops in Lebanon forced to delete images of covert cables 

By Yoav Stern and Shlomo Shamir
July 2, 2008
Haaretz 
Original Source: https://mail.hudsonny.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998254.html \t _blank http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998254.html
 
Soldiers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were forced by local Lebanese residents to delete photos of suspicious-looking underground cables, according a report submitted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. 

The incident constitutes the second time in recent months that the work of the peacekeeping force has been restricted because of pressures from local residents - this in strict violation of UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War that brought the UNIFIL forces to south Lebanon. 

According to the UN secretary general's report, on May 28, UNIFIL peacekeepers located cables that were buried in southeast Lebanon. 

They proceeded to take photographs of the cables, and were subsequently surrounded by local residents who hurled stones at them and in turn took pictures of the soldiers themselves. 

The incident was brought to an end only after UNIFIL agreed to delete the photos, despite the fact that UN policy permits the use of cameras by the peacekeeping forces. 

The report, the seventh released on the implementation of Resolution 1701, also said that UNIFIL increased the number of its observation posts in the Shaba Farms area, and called on Israel to accept one of the solutions that has been offered to end its presence in the northern section of the border village of Rajar. 

The report also emphasized the fact that Israel and Lebanon need to visually delineate the border through clear border markings. There are currently nine markings on the border - in the form of blue barrels - that have been approved by both Israel and Lebanon. 

Regarding the presence of the Israel Air Force in Lebanese skies, the report states that in the last several months, Israel has increased its flyovers, which constitute a violation of UN Resolution 1701.