Finland, 36 countries condemn Israeli attacks on UN troops

Finland together with 36 other contributing countries to United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) strongly condemned the Israeli attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Sunday termed the action of Israeli Defence Force (IDF) as alarming and demanded immediate stop of Israeli attacks on UNIFIL peacekeepers.

“Alarming news on the IDF breaching UNIFIL positions. Israel must immediately stop its attacks on UNIFIL peacekeepers and ensure proper protection for all UN personnel in accordance with int’l humanitarian law. Will discuss the situation tomorrow in the Foreign Affairs Council,” Valtonen wrote in a post on her social media platform X late Sunday night.

The UNIFIL contributing countries on Saturday issued a joint statement demanding immediate stop and proper investigation into the attacks.

“As the countries contributors to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon we reaffirm our full support for UNIFIL’s mission and activities, whose principal aim is to bring stabilisation and lasting peace in South Lebanon as well as in the Middle East, in line with relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. We consider UNIFIL’s role as particularly crucial in light of the escalating situation in the region. We therefore strongly condemn recent attacks on the UNIFIL peacekeepers. Such actions must stop immediately and should be adequately investigated,” said the statement issued in New York upon Polish initiative.

The contributing countries, including three UN Security Council permanent members, condemned the attacks on UN peacekeepers, called for their immediate cessation and for ensuring proper protection for UN personnel in accordance with international law.

The statement was addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the President of the UN General Assembly Philemon Yang, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix and members of the Security Council.

The UNIFIL mission comprises 10,000 peacekeepers.

The signatories in the statements were Armenia, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Ghana, Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Nepal, Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Turkey, United Kingdom, Germany, Peru and Uruguay.

Five UN peacekeepers were injured in Israeli gunfire in S. Lebanon.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported on Sunday that two Israeli tanks destroyed the main gate of one of its positions in southern Lebanon and "forcibly entered" the site after blocking its movement the previous day.