Israel Warns UN: 'Troops Will Be Attacked'
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Courtesy Of: The Guardian
By Clancy Chassay in Beirut,
Conal Urquhart in Metulla, and
Jonathan Steele in Tyre
Tuesday August 8, 2006

...Israel also threatened to attack UN peacekeepers if they attempted to repair bomb-damaged bridges in Southern Lebanon.

UN officials contacted the Israeli Army to inform them that a team of Chineese military engineers attached to the UN force in Lebanon intended to repair the bridge on the Beirut to Tyre road to enable transport of humanitarian supplies.

According to the UN, Israeli officials said the engineers would become a target if they attempted to repair the bridge.

Senior UN officials reacted angirly to the destruction of a temporary causeway over the Litani River overnight.

"We must be able to have movement throughout the country to deliver supplies. At this point we can't do that," said David Shearer, the humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon.

"The deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure is a violation of international law."

International aid groups have blamed Israel for not providing security guarantees, thereby paralysing the delivery of aid to the south.

Even when aid reaches Tyre, convoys have to apply on a case by case basis for permission to take it out to the villages. Most applications are refused.

Source:
http://guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1839442,00.html