Lebanon Residents Wound UN Peacekeeper, Block Convoy twice

UN peacekeeper gestures to his colleague during a Reuters' visit to Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
UN peacekeeper gestures to his colleague during a Reuters' visit to Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
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Lebanon Residents Wound UN Peacekeeper, Block Convoy twice

UN peacekeeper gestures to his colleague during a Reuters' visit to Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
UN peacekeeper gestures to his colleague during a Reuters' visit to Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

A UN peacekeeper in southern Lebanon was hurt when a group of young men attacked a patrol and tried to stop it from moving through their village, the UN mission said on Thursday.

The incident took place on Wednesday night when residents of the village of Taybeh briefly blocked the peacekeepers' patrol travelling through the area, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.

The man wounded was an Indonesian soldier, a security source said. A vehicle was damaged, UNIFIL said.

It called on Lebanese authorities to investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Such attacks “are not only condemnable, but they are violations of Resolution 1701 and Lebanese law,” UNIFIL said on X, formerly known as Twitter, referring to a UN Security Council resolution that ended a monthlong 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

In a second incident on Thursday morning, a peacekeepers' convoy travelling to UNIFIL's eastern headquarters through the border village of Kfar Kila was briefly blocked by residents, who let them go ahead after a brief discussion, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said.

A Lebanese security source said a group of men had hit the UNIFIL vehicles with sticks and rocks.

The reason for the actions was not clear but in previous incidents, local people have objected to UNIFIL peacekeepers driving military vehicles through residential areas.

The area has been particularly tense since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah has been exchanging cross-border fire with Israel since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel that triggered the war.

Israel shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle that had crossed into its territory from Lebanon on Thursday, the military said. Air raid sirens had sounded in northern Israel and there were no immediate reports of casualties.



Blinken Lays Out Post-war Gaza Plan to Be Handed to Trump Team

 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2025. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2025. (AFP)
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Blinken Lays Out Post-war Gaza Plan to Be Handed to Trump Team

 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2025. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2025. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday laid out plans for the post-war management of Gaza, saying the outgoing Biden administration would hand over the roadmap to President-elect Donald Trump's team to pick up if a ceasefire deal is reached.

Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington in his final days as the US top diplomat, Blinken said Washington envisioned a reformed Palestinian Authority leading Gaza and inviting international partners to help establish and run an interim administration for the enclave.

A security force would be formed from forces from partner nations and vetted Palestinian personnel, Blinken said during his speech, which was repeatedly interrupted by protesters who accused him of supporting genocide by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel denies.

He was speaking as negotiators met in Qatar hoping to finalize a plan to end the war in Gaza after 15 months of conflict that has upended the Middle East.

"For many months, we've been working intensely with our partners to develop a detailed post-conflict plan that would allow Israel to fully withdraw from Gaza, prevent Hamas from filling back in, and provide for Gaza's governance, security and reconstruction," Blinken said.

Trump and his incoming team have not said whether they would implement the plan.

Blinken said a post-conflict plan and a "credible political horizon for Palestinians" was needed to ensure that Hamas does not re-emerge.

The United States had repeatedly warned Israel that Hamas could not be defeated by a military campaign alone, he said. "We assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new fighters as it has lost. That is a recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war."

PROTESTERS

Blinken's remarks were interrupted three times by protesters, who echoed accusations that the Biden administration was complicit in crimes committed by Israel in the war.

Blinken has denied Israel's actions amount to genocide and says he has pushed Israel to do more to protect civilians and to facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Israel launched its assault after Hamas-led fighters stormed across its borders on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's aerial and ground campaign has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, drawing accusations of genocide in a World Court case brought by South Africa and of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the allegations.

The assault has displaced nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million population and drawn the concern of the world’s main hunger monitor.

"You will forever be known as bloody Blinken, secretary of genocide," one protester shouted before being led out of the event.

Blinken remained calm, telling one heckler: "I respect your views. Please allow me to share mine," before resuming his remarks.

Blinken said US officials had debated "vigorously" the Biden administration's response to the war, a reference to a slew of resignations by officials in his State Department who have criticized the policy to continue providing arms and diplomatic cover to Israel.

Others felt Washington had held Israel back from inflicting greater damage on Iran and its proxies, he said.

"It is crucial to ask questions like these, which will be studied for years to come," he said. "I wish I could stand here today and tell you with certainty that we got every decision right. I cannot."