UNIFIL says Israeli maneuvers have "no hostile objectives"

May 21, 2009, 14:42 GMT

Beirut - The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) has informed the Lebanese government that upcoming Israeli military exercises near the country's southern border have 'no hostile objectives,' the office of Prime Minister Fouad Seniora said Thursday.

Beirut had made an official complaint to the United Nations which was addressed to UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

'The UNIFIL command informed Lebanon that the maneuvers that Israel will carry out end of this month are defensive exercises that have no hostile objectives,' the prime minister's office stressed in a statement.

On Monday, Hezbollah's Secretary General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah warned that his movement was ready to fight a new war with Israel in response to the exercises.

'There is a possibility that Israeli terrorists may be preparing to launch a new surprise war and is readying its people for such an eventuality,' Nasrallah said in a address carried on al-Manar, the group's satellite channel.

'If Israel plans on pulling anything during the maneuvers we're sending it a message that we stand ready and they will fail,' he added. 'We will not bury our heads in the sand.'

He said the maneuvers, scheduled for May 31 to June 4, were Israel's largest since 1961 and called for taking 'preventive measures for the duration of the maneuvers.'

The Hezbollah chief said the military exercises, which Israel has also described as one of its largest ever, may be a 'psychological message' aimed at restoring the Israeli people's faith in their state and defense forces in the wake of the 2006 war in Lebanon that many saw as a victory for Hezbollah.