2 Israeli spy drones violate Lebanese airspace

Two Israeli reconnaissance planes have penetrated the Lebanese airspace and flown over parts of the country in flagrant violation of a UN Security Council resolution. The unmanned aerial vehicles crossed into Lebanon's airspace over the southern border village of Rmeish at 10:45 a.m. (0775 GMT) on Thursday and carried out surveillance flights over several areas in southern Lebanon, including the Bekaa valley, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of the capital Beirut, according to a statement released by the Lebanese military on Friday. The remote-controlled aircraft left the Lebanese airspace at 7:15 p.m. local time (1615 GMT). Earlier on Thursday, an Israeli drone violated the Lebanese airspace over Alma al-Shaab town at 7:45 a.m. (0445 GMT) and conducted several sorties over various sectors of Lebanon. Israel violates Lebanon's airspace on an almost daily basis. Lebanon's government, the Hezbollah resistance movement and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, have repeatedly] condemned the violations, saying they are in clear violation of UN Resolution 1701 and the country's sovereignty. UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which brokered a ceasefire in the war Israel launched against Lebanon in 2006, calls on Tel Aviv to respect Beirut's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In 2009, Lebanon filed a complaint with the United Nations presenting over 7,000 documents pertaining to Israeli violation of the Lebanese territory.