Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — An Israeli soldier was killed in an ambush by a Lebanese Army sniper on Dec. 15.

Officials said the sniper opened fire on an Israeli vehicle along the northern border with Lebanon near a United Nations position at Rosh Hanikra.

“At about 8:30 p.m. today shots were fired at a vehicle along the Israeli-Lebanese border, near Rosh Hanikra,” the Israeli military said on Dec. 15. “The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed that the sniper is a member of the Lebanese Armed Forces, and that his gunfire killed an IDF soldier. An investigation of the incident is underway.”

Israeli officials said Hizbullah was using soldiers from the Lebanese Army to fire into Israel. They said Hizbullah was using Lebanese Army access to reach the southern border to conduct surveillance and target Israeli soldiers.

“Rather than attack us directly, Hizbullah is using its agents in the Lebanese Army to attack us,” an official said.

Hours later, the Israel Army opened fire toward Lebanon and injured two
of its soldiers. Officials said the Lebanese soldiers were moving toward the
Israeli border. On early Dec. 17, a car bomb was detonated near a Hizbullah facility in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.

Officials said Hizbullah controls most Lebanese Army commanders
stationed near the Israeli border. They said the Lebanese Army has refused
to identify or formally try the alleged sniper.

“This was a very serious incident,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said.
“The person who shot our soldier was a Lebanese soldier. We see the Lebanese
government and army as responsible for what happens on their side of the
border.”

The killing of the soldier marked the second Lebanese fire into Israel
in three days. On Dec. 12, unidentified Lebanese gunmen, also believed
aligned with Hizbullah, attacked an Israel Army patrol along the border.

Officials said the shooting from Lebanon was linked to the death of two
senior Hizbullah commanders in December. They said Hizbullah wanted to
demonstrate its capability to raise border tension with Israel.

“This was the work of an individual,” Lebanese Prime Minister Najib
Miqati, referring to the border killing, said.

On Dec. 16, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon convened a meeting of
Israeli and Lebanese officers to discuss the latest attack. The UN said the
two countries discussed security measures to prevent additional shooting.

“We discussed concrete steps to strengthen the existing security
arrangements along the Blue Line [border] to prevent the re-occurrence of
such incidents,” UNIFIL said.

  Bekaa Valley, Hizbullah tied to Lebanese Army sniper’s Sunday attack that killed Israeli soldier, Moshe Ya’alon, Najib Miqati, Rosh Hanikra, UNIFIL