NEW YORK CITY: Israel’s permanent representative to the UN on Monday expressed concern about what he described as Hezbollah’s ongoing military build-up, accusing the group of attempting to rearm with Iranian assistance.
Danny Danon called on the Lebanese government and the international community to curb “the smuggling of weapons, ammunition and financial support through the Syria-Lebanon border and via air and sea routes.”
The ceasefire deal agreed by Israel and Lebanon in November mandates a 60-day halt to hostilities, during which time Israel must withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah must withdraw its forces to positions north of the Litani River.
In an urgent letter to Algeria’s ambassador to the UN, Amar Bendjama, who holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month, Danon said that Israel has detected several attempts to transfer weapons and cash to Hezbollah since the agreement was signed.
“We have witnessed hundreds of violations, including 168 prominent violations,” he wrote in his letter, a copy of which Arab News has seen.
“These violations include: attempts by Hezbollah to rebuild its military infrastructure; presence of Hezbollah activists south of the Litani; attempts to smuggle weapons into Lebanon; attempts to transfer funds intended for Hezbollah; presence of Hezbollah arms north of the Litani.”
The Lebanese Armed Forces have handled some of these complaints, Danon added, but in many instances “Israel had to take action by itself in order to thwart them.”
Hezbollah has halted its rocket attacks against Israel, and Israeli forces have stopped the continual bombing of Beirut suburbs, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon.
However, both sides accused the other of breaching the ceasefire agreement. Israeli forces remain in the south, where they continue to destroy homes and infrastructure. They have also fired on Lebanese citizens, killed at least 33 Lebanese residents in the past month, and prevented people from returning to their homes.
Under the terms of the agreement, Israel is obliged to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon within 60 days of Nov. 27. They will initially be replaced by troops from UN Interim Force in Lebanon, followed by Lebanese army forces.
But Israeli authorities have warned that the continued extensive presence of Hezbollah weaponry in the south, and the group’s efforts to rebuild, could cause them to “reconsider” their planned timeline for withdrawal from the country.
Danon welcomed the “encouraging” steps taken by the Lebanese army to dismantle some of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure south of the Litani. But he lamented what he described as the slow pace of the efforts and the lack of capacity to effectively address “the full scope of violations,” in light of the “vast military arsenal found on the ground, that has been erected during the years.”
He warned: “Israel will not tolerate any violation of the ceasefire understandings.
“The existence of terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon that continues to threaten Israeli citizens is unacceptable.”
He called on the UN’s peacekeeping force to work “in a much more robust and effective way” to implement Security Council Resolution 1701 and the recent ceasefire understandings. Resolution 1701 was adopted by the council in 2006 with the aim of resolving the conflict that year between Israel and Hezbollah. It calls for an end to hostilities, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, the withdrawal of Hezbollah and other forces from parts of the country south of the Litani River, and the disarmament of Hezbollah and other armed groups.
Danon accused UNIFIL of interpreting its mandate “leniently” and of opting not to take “all necessary action to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind.”
He continued: “As a result, UNIFIL allowed the severe restriction of its freedom of movement, which Hezbollah exploited to systematically establish terrorist infrastructure on private property.
“We are concerned that lessons have not been learned, and that today we are witnessing yet another refusal by the force to adapt to Hezbollah’s changing modus operandi.”
Dannon urged the Security Council to monitor and expedite the Lebanese army’s actions on the ground throughout Lebanon, and to insist that “all the terrorist infrastructure present in Lebanon is removed and to make sure that any attempt to smuggle arms to Hezbollah is thwarted.”
