Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his call for UN peacekeepers "to temporarily leave the combat zone", calling the accusations that Israel dedliberately attacked UNIFIL personnel "completely false."
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00:00Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated demands that United Nations
00:07peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, temporarily leave the combat zone.
00:13International criticism is growing after Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on UN peacekeepers
00:18since invading Lebanon two weeks ago.
00:22In a video statement released on Monday, Netanyahu rejected allegations that the Israeli military
00:27deliberately targeted the peacekeepers.
00:29The charge that Israel deliberately attacked UNIFIL personnel is completely false.
00:35It's exactly the opposite.
00:37Israel repeatedly asked UNIFIL to get out of harm's way.
00:41It repeatedly asked them to temporarily leave the combat zone, which is right next to Israel's
00:46border with Lebanon.
00:47Stefan Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, emphasized that
00:53the attacks on its peacekeepers may constitute war crimes.
00:57Attacks against peacekeepers are in breach of international law, including international
01:01humanitarian law, and they may constitute war crime.
01:05He called on all parties, including the IDF, to refrain from any and all actions that put
01:10our peacekeepers at risk.
01:12The UN Security Council has reiterated its support for UNIFIL's role in supporting regional
01:17security, as well as its support for the peacekeepers' continued presence in southern Lebanon, despite
01:22Netanyahu's calls for their removal.