The United Nations on Thursday night moved rapidly to dispel suggestions by Alain Pellegrini, the UN force commander in Lebanon, that it would consider shooting down Israeli aircraft if they continued illegal incursions into Lebanese airspace.

Major-General Pellegrini told a news conference in New York that Israeli violations were “a major concern . . . not to be accepted”. While Unifil was currently using diplomatic channels to persuade Israel to stop its flights, in the future “other ways” could be considered, including force.