Israel has the right to defend itself, EU Ambassador to Israel Emanuele Giaufret said Thursday, after Israel launched Operation Northern Shield to destroy Hezbollah attack tunnels on its border with Lebanon.
Giaufret said in a Twitter message that he was "closely following news re: Northern Shield" and was in "close contact" with Israeli authorities.
Giaufret also said that UNIFIL had a "key role" to play and needed full support to fulfill its mandate to "maintain stability and prevent escalation."
In May, Giaufret made similar statements backing Israeli action against terrorist attacks when he condemned rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip as "totally unacceptable."
"I know the resilience of communities in southern Israel but indiscriminate attacks are totally unacceptable and [deserve] to be condemned unreservedly," he tweeted in May following an uptick in tensions along the Gaza-Israel border.
