ZAHRANI, Lebanon - UN peacekeepers said Wednesday a cypress tree an Israeli soldier was cutting down just before a border clash with Lebanese soldiers erupted was in Israeli territory, contradicting Lebanese claims that their frontier was breached. The clash Tuesday left a senior Israeli officer, two Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist dead and was the most serious since Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah fought a brief war in 2006. It was a stark reminder of how volatile the border remains, even though both sides appeared to be trying to restore calm and prevent an escalation. The Israeli soldier was cutting down the tree - something Israel does occasionally to improve its sight line into Lebanon - when Lebanese forces opened fire. The Lebanese army and a witness said UN peacekeepers intervened to ask the Israeli to stop cutting the tree, but Israel refused. UNIFIL, the peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, has not commented on that. Both sides claimed the tree was in their territory. Lebanon acknowledged Wednesday that the tree was south of an official, UN-drawn boundary known as the Blue Line separating the countries. The line was drawn in 2000 following the end of a two-decade Israeli occupation of south Lebanon that began with a war in 1982. However Lebanese Information Minister Tarek Mitri said his country disputes the Blue Line demarcation in certain areas, including the village of Adeisseh where the clash took place, and saw Israel's act in as a clear provocation. “UNIFIL established, however, that the trees being cut by the Israeli army are located south of the Blue Line on the Israeli side,” said force spokesman Lt. Naresh Bhatt. He said the peacekeepers were still investigating the clash. Israel said the UN announcement clearly corroborated its version of events. However Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak sought Wednesday to calm the situation. “I hope we will have a quiet summer and things will return to their normal course,” he told Israel Radio.drea Tenenti said. The gathering had been planned before Tuesday's fighting, but it has taken a new urgency now.
