Israel: Flights over Lebanon to continue

Israel said on Oct. 22 that air force flights over Lebanon would continue because arms smuggling to Hezbollah guerrillas has not stopped more than two months after a cease-fire ended the conflict between the two sides. Defense Minister Amir Peretz, in remarks at Israel's weekly cabinet meeting, accused the Lebanese government of failing to carry out its cease-fire obligations to keep weapons from being delivered to the militant group. "The accumulating intelligence in our hands points to a rising effort to transfer arms," and so "the legitimacy for overflights increases," Peretz said. Peretz spoke after the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon termed the overflights a clear violation of the cease-fire resolution, which calls for both sides to respect the UN boundary drawn in 2000 after Israel ended its 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon. French Maj. Gen. Alain Pelligrini, who leads the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, said last week that the overflights are a major concern. A day later, France's Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie called the overflights "extremely dangerous" because the peacekeepers on the ground could see them as hostile acts and fire in self-defense. As many as 15,000 Lebanese army troops and an equal number of UN troops have been assigned to keep the peace in southern Lebanon as part of the cease-fire agreement.