Lebanon will send an official complaint to the United Nations Security Council in response to a warning from Israel that it could strike at the Shiite Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, an official source said Friday, dpa reported.
" Lebanon will complain to the UN about recent comments made by Israeli officials in which they issued direct threats against Lebanon and its infrastructure," the source said.
This week Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned that Israel would hit back harder than before if the Shiite Hezbollah movement attacked.
Olmert warned that Israel had not used all the means at its disposal in the conflict against Hezbollah in 2006. "If Lebanon becomes a Hezbollah state, then we won't have any restrictions in this regard," he said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora was apparently referring to Omert's remarks when he said Friday: "To hear what Israeli officials say, one would think Israel was showering Lebanon with roses during its last aggression."
Seniora was referring to the 2006 summer war between Israel and Hezbollah, in which over 1,200 Lebanese - mostly civilians - were killed.
Lebanon's Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said Thursday that Israel's threats aimed at hurting Lebanon's image.
"Who said that the cabinet has given the OK to Hezbollah to carry out any action against Israel?" Salloukh asked.
He said the situation south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon was stable. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was exerting "major efforts and there have been no complaints against Hezbollah," Salloukh said.
salloukh said Lebanon had honoured its commitments in line with the UN Resolution 1701, which brought last year's war to an end. He accused Israel of violating the resolution by daily overflights over Lebanese territories.
Israel has warned the Lebanese government against giving greater legitimacy to Hezbollah, saying it would make the entire country a target in any future war.
"The moment the Lebanese government confers legitimacy on Hezbollah, it must understand that the entire Lebanese state will be a target in the same way that all of Israel is a target for Hezbollah," Environment Minister Gideon Ezra told Israeli public radio on Wednesday.
The 2006 war began when Israeli troops moved to rescue two Israeli soldiers seized by Hezbollah on July 12 that year. A 33-day war ensued.
The two dead soldiers were returned to Israel in a swap with Hezbollah on July 16. In return, Israel freed five Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli jails and handed over the bodies of around 199 dead Hezbollah and Arab militants.