Lebanon’s speaker sues Israel for killing UN peacekeeper

Lebanon’s parliament has filed a complaint with the country’s judiciary against the Israeli regime for killing a Spanish national with the UN peacekeeping force during Israel’s shelling of the Lebanese border area in January.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri lodged the complaint on Monday, his office said in a Tuesday statement, without giving further details.

The complaint says the Israeli military “deliberately” killed 30-six-year-old Corporal Javier Soria Toledo during the shelling of a border post near the border village of Ghajar on January 28.

Andrea Tenenti, the spokesman of the United Nations Interim Force Lebanon (UNIFIL), said that the peacekeeping mission was not informed about the court case.

Citing extracts from a confidential Spanish military report on the incident, the El Pais newspaper said on April 5 that the Israeli forces had adjusted the trajectory of the artillery fire to hit the UN post.

According to the report, Corporal Ivan Lopez Sanchez, a Spanish soldier stationed near the post, told investigators it was clear that the UN position was being targeted, noting, “Every time, they corrected the trajectory from Majidiye to the 4-28” post, where the UNIFIL peacekeepers were stationed.

A second Spanish solider confirmed Sanchez’s report, saying the first salvo of shells landed some 500 meters north of the UN post and then Israel “corrected the trajectory towards the position.”

A third solider added that the fragmentation bombs used in the attack targeted the post’s main watchtower.

A UN report also said that around 20 artillery shells, 90 mortar grenades and five projectiles were fired at the UN post during the attack, according to the newspaper.

The UNIFIL has some 10,000-troops, from 36 nations, which include some 600 Spanish soldiers.