Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud on Thursday urged a reassessment of the Middle East peace process and accused Israel of driving the region to war.
The Lebanese army accused Israeli planes of intercepting a light plane over south Lebanon and forcing it into Israeli airspace before shooting it down. The army said a student pilot had taken off from Beirut without permission.
Israel said the plane violated its airspace and could have been on a guerrilla attack mission.
Lahoud said Lebanon would continue to oppose Israel's presence in the Shabaa Farms border area which Beirut claims. Syria, the main power broker in Lebanon with 35,000 troops in the country, backs the claim.
Israel and the United Nations say the Shabaa Farms are Syrian territory occupied by Israel. The UN says Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon exactly a year ago after a 22-year occupation as complete.
"Facing this sad reality, the region finds itself on the brink of an all-out confrontation as a direct consequence of Israel's intransigence," Lahoud said in a speech marking the anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon.
"We believe that the world community needs to instill a sense of renewed activism and undertake a major reassessment of the peace process," he said.
Syrian-backed Hizbollah fighters, who led the guerrilla campaign that compelled Israel to leave the south, are still fighting Israel's occupation of the Shabaa Farms, at the foot of the Golan Heights captured by Israel from Syria in 1967.
ISRAELI REPRISAL THREATS
Israel has repeatedly threatened to retaliate if Hizbollah continues its attacks on Israeli troops in Shabaa Farms. Last month, Israeli warplanes destroyed a Syrian radar base deep in Lebanon after a Hizbollah attack on the disputed area.
Lahoud vowed to continue contesting Israel's presence in the Shabaa Farms.
"This (reassessment of the peace process) should first and foremost sternly demand a halt to more than a half century of Israeli aggression.
"While this review takes place, and due to the volatility of the situation, we must maintain our resistance and steadfastness as weapons against Israeli aggression," Lahoud said.
Israeli warplanes on Thursday roared low over southern Lebanon by the Shabaa Farms, the port city of Tyre, Mount Lebanon to the north and along the Lebanese side of the mountain range separating the country from Syria.
This was followed by the incident in which the light plane was shot down.
Lebanese Interior Minister Elias Al Murr said the pilot, an Armenian Lebanese who lived in Cyprus, might have been suffering from psychological problems.
The UN special envoy to Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, expressed regret over the incident. "All sides need to exercise maximum caution and restraint during the forthcoming critical days," he said -- Reuters
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