JERUSALEM, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz reiterated on Thursday that Israeli Air Force (IAF) overflights would continue in Lebanon as long as the UN cease-fire resolution had not been fully implemented.

    "The IAF flight over Lebanon will continue as long as the kidnapped IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers are still in captivity and until the issue of UN supervision on the Syria-Lebanon border is resolved," Peretz told visiting European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Javier Solana when they met in Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon.

An Israeli warplane returns home from a mission over Lebanon.(File Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    Peretz made the remarks just one day after the reports of an alleged clash between Israeli fighter jets and a German carrier helicopter off the Lebanese coast.

    Media reports on Wednesday quoted a junior German Defense Minister as saying that two IAF F-16 aircrafts fired twice when a German helicopter took off from its carrier docking off the Lebanese coast.

    However, when speaking with his German counterpart Franz Josef Yung shortly after the media revelation, Peretz clarified that the incident never took place.

    Israel had been accusing the Lebanese government of failing to honor its obligations under the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 to keep Syria and Iran's weapons from reaching Hezbollah.

    Israeli military planes have been keeping flying over Lebanon after the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended Israel's month-long conflict with Hezbollah this summer went into effect on Aug. 14.

    Defending the overflights, Israel argued that it had to do so to weak Hezbollah's presence in southern Lebanon and halt the ongoing arms supplies to the Shiite group.

    Referring to the Palestinian issue, Peretz told Solana that action must be taken to "thaw the political standstill." He also noted that he remained committed to the humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip.

    During the talk, the two officials also discussed the situation in Syria. "Israel is watching closely Assad's (Syrian President Bashar Assad) doubletalk, war threats alongside talks of peace," Peretz explained to Solana.

    In an earlier meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Solana stressed that Israel must evacuate all illegal West Bank outposts and do its part to advance the internationally-backed Road Map peace plan.

    The EU foreign policy chief pledged his commitment to Middle East peace, saying that the Road Map was still exist.

    The Road Map, launched in 2003, envisioned a Palestinian state alongside Israel peacefully.

    Solana also met Thursday with Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres, who had accused the international community of responding weakly to the threat of a nuclear Iran.

Lebanese president condemns Israeli air violations

    BEIRUT, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Emile Lahoud condemned on Thursday Israel for its violations to his country's air-space and described the violations as a challenge to the international law.

    "Israel's persistence on violating Lebanese air-space is an attack on Lebanon and a breach of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701," Lahoud said in a presidential statement. Full Story