Israeli envoy demands Security Council act against Hezbollah’s violations of its resolutions
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Gilad Erdan sent an official letter of complaint to the Security Council and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in which he demanded that the UNSC strongly condemn Hezbollah’s violations of UN Resolution 1701 and take action against the terrorist organization.
Flag of Hezbollah and Lebanon flying together. Credit: Arthur Sarradin
Resolution 1701 was adopted by the Security Council and was intended to resolve the 2006 Second Lebanon War. It demands Hezbollah retreat northward to the Blue Line, and that the government of Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) deploy their forces in the south. Israel has repeatedly charged that Hezbollah violates the resolution on many occasions, and this is not Erdan’s first letter on the matter.
The letter, sent Wednesday, was accompanied by a map that illustrated the direct connection between Hezbollah’s attacks on UNIFIL forces and its denial of access to UN observers, and the areas where Hezbollah conducts terrorist activities and establishes terrorist infrastructure.
The letter was sent ahead of a special discussion expected to take place on Monday at the Security Council on the implementation of UN Resolution 1701.
Erden wrote that “Hezbollah, as Iran’s arm in Lebanon, continues to intensify uninterrupted and only increases its military presence in the UNIFIL area of activity and along the Blue Line. The most worrying aspect of Hezbollah’s conduct is its precision missile development program, which is being carried out in blatant violation of Security Council resolutions.”
“With the deliberate concealment of its weapons and ammunition depots within civilian population centers in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah and its murderous activities pose a threat not only to Israel and its citizens but also to the residents of Lebanon,” he warned.
Israel has previously exposed Hezbollah’s use of human shields to protect its arsenal of more than 130,000 rockets and its military infrastructure.
He further noted Hezbollah’s ongoing efforts to deprive UNIFIL forces of the freedom of movement in their area of activity, including incidents involving physical violence against UNIFIL personnel that prevented UNIFIL from fulfilling its peacekeeping mandate.
“The repeated violent attacks against UNIFIL forces are not random or isolated incidents. These are deliberate attacks that are part of a broader strategy designed to limit the effectiveness of UN peacekeeping forces in the region,” the Israeli envoy charged.
He called on the Security Council members to condemn the violations and “the dangerous developments in southern Lebanon.”
“It is also essential that the Security Council provide UNIFIL with the power and tools necessary to carry out its mandate effectively. UNIFIL, for its part, must ensure that its area of activity is not used for any hostile activity against Israel,” he concluded.
