Nov 10, 2009, 19:38 GMT
New York - The UN Security Council on Tuesday welcomed the newly formed government in Lebanon and a UN official said the ceasefire in the south was holding 'remarkably well' despite repeated violations from both sides.
The 15-nation council discussed the formation of the new government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who convened his cabinet in Beirut for the first time after a five-month political vacuum in Lebanon.
Michael Williams, the UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process, briefed the council on the implementation of Resolution 1701, which ordered a ceasefire between Israeli and Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon in 2006
'The UN looks forward to working with the new government in addressing the challenges and fulfilling Resolution 1701,' Williams said.
'But obviously more needs to be done to safeguard what has been achieved in the past three years,' Williams said.
Williams denounced the almost daily incidences of violations by sea or land of the ceasefire, citing rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel and the Israeli jet-fighter swoops that violated Lebanese sovereign airspace.
Williams said the UN has condemned the flights and Hezbollah's attacks against Israel. He cited also the maintenance of weapons depots in southern Lebanon as a ceasefire violations.
He said the ceasefire violations are 'cause for concern and raise the specter of a potential escalation' of the fighting.
Williams called for a permanent ceasefire.
'The cessation of hostilities has held remarkably well and I think it's a tribute to UN Interim Forces in Lebanon, and obviously to Lebanon and Israel,' He said.
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