Attacks on Unifil by Israel are unacceptable, says Spain's foreign minister

Attacks by Israel on the United Nations' peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as Unifil, are "unacceptable" and contrary to UN rules, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Monday.

"It is contrary to what we expect from any member state of the United Nations, which is ultimately an organisation that protects world peace," he told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers held in Luxembourg.

EU countries, led by Italy, France and Spain, have thousands of troops in the 10,000-strong peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, which has said it has repeatedly come under attack from Israeli forces in recent days. Israel has called on the UN to move the troops out of the combat zone.

Albares said only UN can order the withdrawal of Unifil.

Reporting by Reuters