Netanyahu admits ordering Lebanon pager attack as Taiwan denies involvement

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted on Sunday that he had ordered September's deadly pager explosions in Lebanon

Netanyahu's spokesperson, Omer Dostri, told AFP that Netanyahu "confirmed Sunday that he greenlighted the pager operation in Lebanon."

Netanyahu made the announcement during Sunday's weekly Israeli cabinet meeting, according to the Times of Israel.

He said that the pager attacks and the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah were done despite opposition from senior security and defence officials.

The attack saw thousands of pagers and walkie talkies used by Hezbollah personnel and affiliated individuals near-simultaneously blow up over the course of two days, killing nearly 40 people, including two children, and injuring over 3,000 others.

Both the pager attack and the killing of Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs were the opening blow of a dramatic Israeli escalation against Lebanon which began on September 23 and includes a full-on aerial assault and a ground invasion of the south of the country.

The scale of the attack, which killed civilians and saw pagers explode in densely populated areas, prompted accusations that it could have violated international law.

Taiwan denies any role

In a related development following Netanyahu's admission, Taiwan has said that an internal investigation into its potential role in the pager attack has been closed, with no Taiwanese citizens or companies involved.

Taipei prosecutors investigating suspected Taiwanese involvement in the attacks said that the pager used in the attack was manufactured, traded, and shipped by the Frontier Group Entity outside Taiwan.

However, Gold Apollo, the original manufacturer of the AR-924 pagers used in the attack, had given permission to the company to use the Apollo trademark.

"There is no evidence indicating that any domestic manufacturers or individuals were accomplices in the relevant explosions, violating the Counter-Terrorism Financing Act, or engaging in illegal activities," a statement from the prosecutors read.

"No concrete evidence of criminal activity has been discovered in this case, nor have any specific individuals been implicated in any criminal activity, following a comprehensive investigation," it added.

Taiwanese prosecutors said that the questioning of a woman called Teresa Wu, the sole employee of a company called Apollo Systems Ltd., revealed that there was liaison between her and Frontier. 

However, the prosecutors added that there was no evidence she was aware of the impending attack, and that they were unaware of the exact identities of the Frontier employees she communicated with.