Lebanon-Israel Update: UN Support for West Jerusalem; Washington's Dilemma over Beirut

On Wednesday, a Lebanese source told the Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar that the Lebanese Army was first to open fire in Tuesday's clash with Israel Defense Forces. However, the source also stated that it was their right "to defend Lebanon's sovereignty", implying that Israeli soldiers were on the Lebanese side of the borderline.

Israel, in an official letter of complaint to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, asserted that IDF soldiers did not cross the border. An official with the United Nations peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, later said that the Israeli units were in their territory, and Milos Strugar, UNIFIL's senior political advisor, added that UN deals "with complaints on provocations of Lebanese soldiers against IDF units on a daily basis".

Meanwhile, the US Government finds itself caught between its ally Israel and the need to bolster Saad Hariri's "moderate" government and a Lebanese army which is to be distinguished from Hezbollah militants.

Middle East Inside Line: Israel’s Lebanon Message, Hezbollah’s Response, Livni Challenges Netanyahu

On Tuesday,Washinigton's "we don't want to see this happen again" response was criticised by West Jerusalem as "neutral". The next day, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said that the firing by Lebanese armed forces on Israeli troops was "totally unjustified and unwarranted" while calling on both sides to show restraint and urging the United Nations to oversee a calming of the crisis:

We appreciate the work of the United Nations both in the meeting today and creating the cease-fire yesterday. We're going to be working intensively to see that tensions along this border are eased.

However, the Obama Administration might have some friction from Congress over military aid to Lebanon. For 2010, the US approved $100 million in assistance to the Lebanese military, as well as $109 million in economic aid and $20 million in anti-narcotics funds. The amount of aid for 2011 is approximately the same.

Talking to The Jerusalem Post, Florida Representative Ron Klei said "the continued support of the Lebanese Army" will "come up in conversations in the Congress". Klei added:

If in fact it’s factually shown that this was a Lebanese government authorized action, I think a lot of members would be very concerned about continuing to provide military support to Lebanon. I certainly would be.

However, even Klei admitted that hostility to Lebanon might be overtaken by the need to maintain a pro-American government in Beirut: 

It doesn’t mean there’s going to be a certain reduction, because unfortunately for that region it’s the lesser of two evils. We’d much rather work with the army than Hezbollah.

Middle East Inside Line: Israel's Lebanon Message, Hezbollah's Response, Livni Challenges Netanyahu

Israel's Message, Hezbollah's Response: In an official statement on Tuesday evening, Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak said:

The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will continue to act firmly and determinedly to protect the residents of Israel and the sovereign borders of Israel. Israel strives for peace and has proven this in 2000 when its forces withdrew to the international border. However, Israel will not tolerate in any way an attack on her soldiers or civilians within her sovereign territory.
In a televised speech on Tuesday night, Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah described the Lebanese army as "heroic'"and continued:

This time we stood and watched...but next we will not.

Israel's aggression on Lebanon has never stopped. We will not stand idle...we will cut any hand that attack our army.

Gaza Latest: Why Israel Is Welcoming the UN Enquiry
MENA House: Rockets on Jordan and Israel; Lebanon-Israel Clash — UPDATES

Syrian President Bashar Assad told his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman that Syria would stand behind Lebanon and provide any necessary support, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported. Assad said that the IDF fire "proves once again that Israel is constantly working to destabilize security in Lebanon and the region".

Israeli Opposition Furious over Netanyahu's Cooperation with UN: On Tuesday, Israel's opposition leader Tzipi Livni criticised the Netanyahu Government for accepting a UN inquiry into the raid on the Freedom Flotilla on 31 May. She said:, "The IDF has a chief of staff, not a secretary general. I am opposed to a UN inquiry that will involve the IDF, its soldiers and its commanders."

Tension on Turkish-Israeli Front: On July 25, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak claimed that Turkey's newly appointed head of intelligence, Hakan Fidan, could leak secret information shared between the two countries.

Fidan was previously a foreign policy adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and served as Turkey's representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency. He was also present at the nuclear swap deal signed among Turkey, Brazil and Iran.

In response, Israel's envoy Gabby Levy was summoned in Ankara. "We expressed our discomfort and dissatisfaction with Barak's statement," a Turkish foreign ministry official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

Hamas Praises Hezbollah: Following the friction between Israel and Lebanon which left at least three dead behind, Hamas praised Hezbollah in its confrontation to Israeli forces.

"We pay tribute to the Lebanese national army, which has the full right to counter the repeated Zionist violations of its land and sovereignty," the Hamas statement said.

Erdogan's Name Given to Hamas Leader's Grandson: The 47-year-old Ismail Haniyeh has 11 children and 15 grandchildren. The 15th one was named as Erdogan, in the sense of honouring Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Gaza Latest: Why Israel Is Welcoming the UN Enquiry

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that Israel would accept an international probe into the raid on the Freedom Flotilla on 31 May.

The panel will begin its work on 10 August and will file its first report with the UN Security Council by the middle of September. Heading the panel will be former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, an expert on international maritime law. The vice chairman is outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who is considered pro-Israel and pro-United States. Turkey and Israel also will send representatives.

This is the first time Israel is cooperating with a UN investigation of the actions of Israel Defense Forces. Haaretz reports the mandate of the panel:

The panel's mandate is to examine the investigations that Israel and Turkey are carrying out regarding the incident of the Gaza-bound flotilla on May 31. In addition, the panel will seek to examine the facts surrounding the flotilla and recommend ways to avoid such incidents in the future.

The panel will not be authorized to call witnesses --- especially no Israeli soldiers or officers.

So it will be a very limited investigation; the US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said the nternational panel will be "complementary" to national enquiries. Rice added that the US expected  "that the Panel will operate in a transparent and credible manner and that its work will be the primary method for the international community to review the incident, obviating the need for any overlapping international inquiries".

So why did Israel, contrary to initial expectations, accept a UN panel? Because, at the end of the day, it is an investigation doing no more than looking at national (i.e., Israeli) investigations which have already tried to define the findings, findings which have already tried to contain the fact that nine activists died on board the Flotilla.