JERUSALEM, Aug 1, (AFP): Israeli and Lebanese troops exchanged fire on their often tense border on Monday morning, officials on both sides said, with the two armies trading accusations on why the shooting happened. The Israeli military said its troops had been fired on as they worked on the Israeli side of the Blue Line, the UN-drawn border with Lebanon. But a Lebanese army official said troops opened fire only when Israeli soldiers crossed the border line, which was established in 2000. Both sides have challenged the accuracy of the Blue Line in several locations.

“Earlier this morning an IDF (Israeli military) force carrying out a routine patrol within Israeli territory near the Israel-Lebanon border was fired upon from the direction of Lebanon,” an Israeli military spokeswoman told AFP. “The force responded by firing towards the source of fire and UNIFIL was informed of the incident,” she added, referring to the UN peacekeeping force stationed on the Israeli-Lebanese border. One Israeli military source said the incident occurred near the Dan kibbutz in the far north of Israel as troops carried out work on a border fence.

Another stressed that “Israel’s interest at this time is to contain the situation and maintain the calm on the border.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking before the parliament’s defence and foreign affairs committee, repeated that message, saying Israel “does not want an escalation on the Lebanese border,” an official told AFP. Speaking before the closed session, which the official described on condition of anonymity, Netanyahu defended the decision of Israeli troops to fire back.

Incident
A Lebanese army official, who declined to be identified, told AFP that the incident occurred early on Monday when “an Israeli patrol in the Wazzani area crossed the Blue Line and went beyond it about 30 metres (yards).” “Lebanese troops stationed in the area fired warning shots,” he said. “The Israeli patrol retreated and then fired at Lebanese army posts.” He said there were no injuries on the Lebanese side and that UNIFIL was informed of the incident and quickly moved to the area.

Also:
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Two Palestinians were shot dead overnight by Israeli soldiers in the Qalandiya refugee camp in the West Bank, Palestinian medics and security officials said on Monday.
The dead men, Moatassem Adwan, 22, and 23-year-old Ali Khalifa, were killed by soldiers as they carried out arrests in the camp on the road from Ramallah to Jerusalem. An official from the Fatah movement told AFP that Israeli troops entered the camp at around 3:30 am (0030 GMT) and arrested one youth before clashes broke out, with young men throwing stones at soldiers. The soldiers then opened fire on the stone-throwers, killing two, the official said on condition of anonymity. Palestinian intelligence sources said the two “were taken to the Ramallah hospital at dawn. One of them was shot in the head and was martyred immediately. The second was martyred shortly afterwards.”

An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops carrying out an arrest operation in Qalandiya refugee camp. She said five soldiers were injured in the confrontations but could not confirm that any Palestinians had been killed in the incident. Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina condemned the killings in a statement to government news agency WAFA. “We condemn the Israeli crime that occurred in Qalandiya camp today, and led to the martyrdom of two youths,” he said. “This is an Israeli attempt to escalate the situation before September and comes alongside continued attacks by settlers against (Palestinian) citizens and their property,” he added.