00:00Malaysia, along with 33 other countries contributing to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon,
00:06has co-signed a joint statement calling for the protection of UN peacekeepers.
00:12The countries on Sunday urged all parties in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict to respect
00:17the peacekeepers' presence, which entails the obligation to guarantee the safety and
00:21security of its personnel at all times.
00:24Over the week, the peacekeepers said five of their personnel in southern Lebanon were
00:29wounded in multiple incidents involving attacks by Israeli forces.
00:33The injured personnel are from Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
00:37Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the United Nations to evacuate its peacekeeping
00:42troops from combat areas in Lebanon immediately.
00:46Mr. Secretary General, get the UNIFIL forces out of harm's way.
00:50It should be done right now, immediately.
00:53He claimed that the UN peacekeepers' presence will make them hostages of the Hezbollah group.
01:01Leaders from Italy, France and Spain, as well as Pope Francis, condemned Israel for hurting
01:05the peacekeepers.
01:06I ask you once again to stop the fire immediately on all fronts.
01:17We are following the path of diplomacy and dialogue to achieve peace.
01:25I am close to all the populations involved, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, where I ask that
01:35the forces of peace of the United Nations be respected.
01:41Poland's permanent mission to the UN updated on its social media accounts, saying that
01:46the number of signatory countries of the joint statement now totaled 40, and it was also
01:52endorsed by Switzerland.
01:54It is learnt that there are some 10,058 peacekeepers in Lebanon.
