Senior Lebanese army commanders planned and authorised the cross-border shooting on Tuesday that killed an Israel Defence Forces colonel who was supervising the removal of a tree within Israeli territory, the Lebanese press has reported.
The acknowledgement came at a United Nations-brokered meeting between Major-General Abdul Rahman Chehaitly of the Lebanese army and a senior Israeli officer on Wednesday.
The Lebanese newspaper As-Safir reported that General Chehaitly told the meeting the shooting was the result of a command decision and could be repeated.
“The soldiers received clear orders to open fire. The responsibility is that of the Israeli army which crossed the border,” General Chehaitly said.
See Daled Amos’ blog for the rest of story, which includes information suggesting that Hezbollah had a role in the attack.
