UN keen to intervene over Lebanon-Israel border row

The UN said it was willing to help solve the crisis that erupted between Lebanon and Israel concerning Israel's demarcation of the maritime border between the two countries, the Israeli Army Radio said Friday. Lebanon claims that Israel illegally demarcated the sea border, denying Lebanon access to natural gas and oil that belongs to the country. Under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which was drafted in the wake of the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, UNIFIL is only mandated to help demarcate the land-based Blue Line. This is the boundary of Israeli military withdrawal from south Lebanon, not an internationally recognized border. As for the maritime boundary, Israel unilaterally erected a line of buoys stretching west from Ras Naqoura, although Lebanon and the UN do not recognize this. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon said it was working with Lebanon and Israel to try and establish a maritime security zone close to the Blue Line in order to avoid fresh conflict between the two warring states.