The Hezbollah flag. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Following a Hezbollah threat of retaliation for a purported Israeli airstrike on an arms convoy near the Lebanon-Syria border, Israel has warned the Lebanese government that it will hold them accountable for the actions of Hezbollah.

According to the Lebanese daily al-Akhbar, Israel sent the message through the U.N. peacekeeping force UNIFIL, which patrols southern Lebanon.

“It is self-evident that we see Lebanon as responsible for any attack on Israel from the territory of Lebanon,” Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said Friday, Israel Radio reported.

“It is the duty of the Lebanese government to prevent any terrorist attack—whether a terrorist or missile attack, or any other kind—on the State of Israel,” he said.

On Wednesday, in an unusually blunt statement, Hezbollah said that it would “choose the time and place and the proper way to respond” against Israel for the airstrike, Lebanon’s Daily Star reported.

Additionally, the Lebanese government said it issued a formal complaint against Israel in the U.N. over the airstrike.