The UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon says it wants to clearly mark the boundary between Israel and Lebanon after a border dispute led to deadly violence earlier this month. UNIFIL force commander Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas said Thursday he met with representatives of the Lebanese and Israeli armies to discuss the UN-drawn Blue Line boundary. An exchange of fire between Lebanese and Israeli troops on Aug. 3 killed an Israeli officer, two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist. The violence broke out after Israel tried to cut down a tree that both sides claimed was on their territory. The Blue Line is not marked clearly. A fence Israel erected to separate the countries does not always match the official boundary. Cuevas said he had “received assurances from the parties that they want to continue working closely with UNIFIL to maintain calm in the area.” “No-one is interested in an escalation. All parties must strive to maintain the cessation of hostilities,” the major-general was quoted as saying. At Wednesday's meeting the three parties discussed “ways to speed up the process of visibly marking the Blue Line on the ground,” the UN said, referring to the UN-drawn border established in 2000 when Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon. “The process (of visibly marking the border) is an important endeavor,” he said. – Agencies which would reduce tension and the possibility of inadvertent violations,” Asarta said. “The parties have expressed to me their strong interest in speeding up this process.” he added. UNIFIL, which was set up in 1978 to monitor the border between Israel and southern Lebanon, was considerably beefed after the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.
