Two Norwegian soldiers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were wounded by shots fired by an Israel Defense Force patrol Monday night. Norway has lodged a sharp protest with Israel through UNIFIL headquarters, and the IDF is investigating the incident.
The IDF spokesman said the patrol had noticed two men moving about in a suspicious manner in the middle of the night on the border of the south Lebanon security zone, and opened fire. The IDF patrol approached the wounded men and were dismayed to discover that they were Norwegian UNIFIL soldiers who had been moving about in the area without the knowledge of the IDF.
The wounded men were treated on the spot by an IDF doctor and then taken by the Israelis to the UNIFIL hospital in Nakoura where they were treated for what was described as light injuries. An IDF source, commenting on the incident, said that “anybody moving about on the edge of the security zone at 2 a.m. cannot be thought to be on a mission of mercy.”
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