The Security Council, after three days of deliberation, today expressed "deep concern" over border fighting between Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrillas and Israeli forces and said Hizbollah started it.
After prodding by the United States, the Council statement deleted any reference to Israel by name.
"I wanted to underline the importance of saying expressly that it was Hizbollah that initiated the attack," US Ambassador John Bolton told reporters.
Pro-Syrian Hizbollah guerrillas on Monday raided northern Israel in an unsuccessful attempt to capture Israeli troops, triggering the worst round of fighting since Israel pulled out of south Lebanon five years ago. Four Hizbollah fighters were killed in addition to injuries on both sides.
Today, Israeli troops exchanged fire with Hizbollah across the Lebanese border to provide cover for an Israeli paraglider pilot who drifted into Lebanon by accident. Lebanese witnesses said Hizbollah tried to capture him but were thwarted by heavy machinegun fire from the Israeli side.
A Security Council statement drafted by France on Monday would have condemned "military exchanges initiated by Hizbollah" as well as Israeli violations of Lebanese air space.
The United States wanted the reference to Israel dropped and Algeria, the only Arab member of the council, objected to pinning the blame on Hizbollah, diplomats said.
In the end, members of the Security Council expressed "deep concern about the hostilities, which were initiated by Hizbollah"
"They appealed to all parties to respect the (boundary) in its entirety, to exercise utmost restraint and to refrain from any action that could further escalate the situation."
The statement also called on the Lebanese government "to extend its authority and to exert its monopoly over the use of force all over its territory."