20/12/2008 A few hours following the Israeli violation of Lebanese sovereignty and kidnapping of two Lebanese citizens from within the Lebanese territories, Hezbollah issued a statement in which it declared that the incident was a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and a shameless assault on Lebanon's security.
 
On Friday, an Israeli occupation force violated the sovereignty and kidnapped two Lebanese citizens from the southern town of Blida near the border with occupied Palestine. They released them on Saturday after interrogating them for hours.
 
"This incident constitutes an aggressive act with respect to all international and legal norms," Hezbollah statement read. It called on everyone to assume their responsibilities. "What's the position of the UN Security Council over this direct and obvious violation to the international resolution 1701 and over this attack against civilians within the territories of their sovereign country? What would the international organization do to respond to the attack and prevent its repetition?" the statement wondered.
 
Hezbollah emphasized that "silence, which became the recurrent reaction, was tantamount to encouraging the aggression and colluding with it." The Resistance party called on the Lebanese cabinet to take the appropriate and firm measure to face the newest Israeli aggression against the country, stressing that preventing attacks against the country and defending Lebanese with all possible means was the right of all Lebanese.
 
In the same context, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman on Saturday said he plans to protest to the United Nations after Israeli soldiers kidnapped two civilians near the border overnight. "Lebanon will send a protest letter to the United Nations as soon as the army reaches a final conclusion on the exact location where they were kidnapped," Sleiman said according to a statement read out by Information Minister Tarek Mitri after a cabinet meeting. "Repeated violations of Lebanese sovereignty by Israel clearly show its attitude towards Lebanon," he said.
  
For his part, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora also condemned the incident and called for a "halt to all Israeli violations whatever the pretext," Mitri said. Saniora noted that "the Israelis do not cooperate with UNIFIL to define the blue line" established by the UN in 2000 to act as the frontier after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon.
 
Earlier, Al-Manar’s correspondent in the south said that the UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) received Tarraf Tarraf and his brother Hassan Tarraf, both aged about 50, and handed them over to the Lebanese army. In turn, the Lebanese army transported the men to the hospital for treatment from Israeli dog bites they sustained during interrogation by the Israeli army.
Lebanese security forces said that the men were kidnapped on Lebanese territory.
 
For his part, Tarraf Tarraf said he and his brother had been working in their olive grove near the border village of Blida when "Israeli soldiers attacked us, setting their dogs on us, before taking us trussed up to Palestine."
  
They were beaten during transport and then interrogated for three hours about why they were in the area and whether they had links with Hezbollah, he said.
  
On Friday night, an Israeli army occupation spokesman claimed the men were arrested on for having "crossed the border."
  
The Lebanese official said the army regards the incident as a violation of Lebanese territory, adding that a joint commission from the army and UNIFIL is making on-the-spot enquiries.
  
UNIFIL said the men were released after it contacted the Israeli authorities. "The Israeli authorities handed over the two Lebanese after the intervention of UNIFIL command," spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane said. "We are in contact with the Lebanese army and the Israeli forces and we call on all parties to show restraint," she said, adding: "The circumstances of this incident are still unclear."