Gillerman: UNIFIL Failures Set Stage for New Conflict

UNIFIL is helping to lay the groundwork for the next wave of ethnic cleansing and genocide to be perpetrated against Israel. From Gillerman: UNIFIL Failures Set Stage for New Conflict:

UNIFIL soldiers assigned to maintain the cease-fire that ended the Second Lebanon War of 2006 are not carrying out their mandate and are potentially laying the groundwork for another round of violence between Israel and Hizbullah, Israel's outgoing UN ambassador Danny Gillerman said in an interview.

"They [UNIFIL] should be much more proactive - more aggressive in going after Hizbullah - in detecting [and] identifying arms depots. They should be going in there, not just relying on Lebanese armed forces to do so, who often work in collusion with Hizbullah," he said. "Within the mandate as it stands today, they can do much more and be more effective, and if they don't, they will have to regret it," he said.

"Resolution 1701 was supposed to limit [the] actions of Hizbullah, and prevent it from rearming," said Gillerman. "It did not achieve that. Hizbullah today has rearmed to the point that it is possibly even better equipped than it was before the war. The resolution also imposed an embargo on arms shipments to militias in Lebanon - namely Hizbullah - which was a huge achievement, but that wasn't implemented either."

Israel Faults Restrictions on UNIFIL

From Israel Faults Restrictions on UNIFIL:

Israel is expected to air complaints on UNIFIL's performance in Lebanon with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Jerusalem this week, diplomatic officials said Tuesday. France has 2,000 troops in the UNIFIL mission. Despite the UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, thousands of rockets have been smuggled south of the Litani River, according to the officials. Hizbullah is no longer operating in the open areas, but rather inside the villages, and UNIFIL cannot go into the villages without first getting the approval of the Lebanese army, something that drastically reduces its effectiveness.

The anti-Hizbullah Shi'ite mufti of Tyre, Ali al-Amin, told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday:

"Peace mission? You must be kidding. I will tell you what UNIFIL troops in southern Lebanon are. They are tourists, simple, faint-hearted and ignorant tourists ... UNIFIL forces pretend not to see anything."

Israel: UNIFIL Is Hiding Information about Hizbullah from Security Council

The United Nations is once again giving Muslims a free pass to intimidate, coerce, and break the rules of law. Via Israel: UNIFIL Is Hiding Information about Hizbullah from Security Council:

UNIFIL is intentionally concealing information about Hizbullah activities south of the Litani River in Lebanon to avoid conflict with the group, senior sources in Jerusalem have said. In the last six months there have been at least four cases in which UNIFIL soldiers identified armed Hizbullah operatives, but did nothing and did not submit full reports on the incidents to the UN Security Council.

A new report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with regard to Security Council Resolution 1559 briefly mentioned an incident at the beginning of March in which UNIFIL soldiers encountered unidentified armed men, and included no additional details. The incident described in the report had actually been a clash between UNIFIL and armed Hizbullah activists, driving a truck full of explosives, who threatened the Italian UNIFIL battalion with weapons. Instead of using force as required by their mandate, the UN soldiers abandoned the site. A diplomatic source at the UN said senior officials in UNIFIL and in the UN Secretariat brought heavy pressure to bear to have the incident erased from the report or at least to blur it.

Hizbullah Wards Off UNIFIL in South Lebanon

The mainstream Israel-bashing media didn't report the following story, giving Muslims a free pass once again. However Americans like me have the responsibility to point out that societies built on Islamic values are not "just like us", and they do not have the same goals as us. We can't expect the media which bashes Israel, Christianity, and supports partial-birth abortions to take concepts such as Israel's right to self-determination, Israel's right to defend herself, concepts such as democracy that are borne out of Judeo-Christian values of equality of all men before their G-d and report them truthfully. The media doesn't understand that one can't simply graft a moral value system onto another culture where it never before existed. This story should have been reported not only for Hezbollah's intimidation of UNIFIL but also to demonstrate the United Nations' utter failure as an institution. From Hizbullah Wards Off UNIFIL in South Lebanon:

Armed Hizbullah militants warded off members of UNIFIL last month when the peacekeepers discovered a truck carrying weapons and ammunition. On March 30, UNIFIL troops on patrol discovered the truck, chased it down and pulled it over. When the troops approached the vehicle, armed Hizbullah men exited the truck and threatened the troops at gunpoint. The UNIFIL patrol then returned to their base. The incident, referred to in a semi-yearly report submitted to the UN Security Council by Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, was not reported in the media at the time.

Israel Protests Katyusha Fire from Lebanon

From Israel Protests Katyusha Fire from Lebanon:

Israel Tuesday submitted a strong protest to the UN Secretary General and to the President of the Security Council regarding the shooting of two Katyusha rockets from Lebanon at Shlomi, in the western Galilee.

The rocket fire constitutes a serious violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and serves as further proof that the resolution is not being strictly implemented. Israel has for months been warning of the military consolidation and strengthening of the armed militias in southern Lebanon, including Hizbullah, north and south of the Litani River, as well as the continuing smuggling of Syrian and Iranian arms from Syria into Lebanon.

UNIFIL must take very decisive action to implement the resolution and take effective measures to prevent the smuggling of Syrian and Iranian arms across the Syrian-Lebanese border, to prevent the entry of extremist elements into Lebanon, and to disarm all the armed militias and organizations in Lebanon, according to UN Security Council resolutions.

Bomb Wounds Two UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon

How odd. No outrage from the hypocritical international community. From Bomb Wounds Two UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon:

Two Irish UN peacekeeping soldiers were slightly wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in south Lebanon on Tuesday near Rmaileh, 35 km south of Beirut and not far from Ain al-Hilweh, a hotbed for Islamist militant groups. It was the third attack on UNIFIL since the Israel-Hizbullah War ended in August 2006.

UN Peacekeepers Turn to Hizbullah for Protection

From UN Peacekeepers Turn to Hizbullah for Protection:

The UN peacekeepers in Lebanon are led by elite European troops, but a year on, UNIFIL finds itself under threat not from the Shiite Hizbullah, but from radical Sunni militants possibly inspired by al-Qaeda. Some UNIFIL contingents are now seeking the cooperation of Hizbullah, which also views militant Sunnis as a threat, to help provide tacit security for the peacekeepers, Hizbullah and UNIFIL sources say. Last month, six Spanish and Colombian soldiers serving with UNIFIL were killed when a car bomb exploded beside their armored vehicle. Last week, a UNIFIL jeep was damaged when a bomb exploded nearby, confirming fears that last month's bombing was not a random act. In both attacks, radical Sunnis are the prime suspects.

Hizbullah: We Can Strike at Every Part of Israel

More Muslim hubris, arrogance, and supremacy. From Hizbullah: We Can Strike at Every Part of Israel:

Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah told Al-Jazeera Sunday that his organization is able to strike at every part of Israel, and had the same capability during the Second Lebanon War last summer.

From IDF Says Hizbullah Hiding Rockets from UN Forces:

Since its reinforced deployment last August, UNIFIL has carried out extensive searches in more than 90% of southern Lebanon's open areas, where UN patrols have found and destroyed Hizbullah arms, including Katyusha launchers, Katyusha rockets and explosives. As an alternative, Hizbullah is trying to transfer significant numbers of its short-range Katyusha rockets into built-up areas, mostly in the dozens of Shi'ite villages south of the Litani, to hide them from UNIFIL.

UNIFIL Is Ineffective

From UNIFIL Is Ineffective:

In reality, UNIFIL in Lebanon gives diplomats an excuse to do nothing about Hizbullah's rearmament, and its presence on the ground complicates Israel's ability to engage the terrorist army in battle. The new UNIFIL force is afraid to confront Hizbullah, unwilling to interrupt the easy flow of arms across Lebanon, and prohibited from patrolling the border with Syria. No serious observer of southern Lebanon today believes that the new, "robust" UNIFIL will prevent another round of warfare.

Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 after six months

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence' Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC)

March 4 , 2007

The implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 after six months

Interim report

Click here for the annotated version.

1. An examination of the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 six months after its passing shows that that implementation to be only partial and that the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have not enforced its essential provisions. Basically, south Lebanon has not become a demilitarized zone free of terrorist organizations and their weapons, Hezbollah as an organization was not disarmed, the process of rehabilitating its military strength continues, and an effective embargo on smuggling arms from Syria to Lebanon has not been imposed. The quiet prevailing in south Lebanon since the war ended is to a great extent a function of Hezbollah's focus on rehabilitating its military strength. In our assessment, as the rehabilitation process continues and Hezbollah's confidence increases, so will its daring and willingness to continue disregarding the implementation of Resolution 1701.

Interim report on the implementation of Resolution 1701

2. On August 12, 2006, the Security Council passed Resolution 1701, which ended the second Lebanon war and was supposed to create a new situation in south Lebanon . The resolution went into effect on August 14, after having been approved by the governments of Israel and Lebanon. 1

3. The Resolution had two main components :

A. Regarding south Lebanon (especially the area south of the Litani River): security arrangements in south Lebanon were based on the deployment of up to 15,000 Lebanese troops concurrent with the withdrawal of the Israeli forces to the international boundary between the two countries (the Blue Line). The Lebanese army was supposed to enforce the authority of the Lebanese government over south Lebanon , where there was supposed to be only one source of weapons, the Lebanese government, and to rid the area of the presence and activities of Hezbollah and other terrorist groups. To carry out the mission the Lebanese army was to be supported by an upgraded UNIFIL force of up to 15,000 soldiers.

B. Regarding north Lebanon : the resolution called for the disarming of Hezbollah and other terrorist groups (without specifically naming them) based on previous Security Council resolutions and internal Lebanese decisions (mainly the 1989 Taif agreement). The agreement imposed an embargo on delivering arms to Hezbollah (and other terrorist groups) and called for the Lebanese government to supervise the Lebanon borders (on land, at sea and in the air) with UNIFIL support (should the Lebanese government so desire). The resolution also calls for the unconditional release of the Israeli soldiers abducted by Hezbollah.

4. An examination of the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 shows the following :

A. Regarding south Lebanon : an unprecedented Lebanese army force was deployed (approximately 10,000 soldiers, i.e., four brigades), supported by an upgraded UNIFIL force of more than 12,000 soldiers. Their deployment created a new situation on the ground and Hezbollah is no longer the only significant force operating in south Lebanon . So far the area has been quiet (with the exception of a single incident) because Hezbollah, which focuses on rebuilding its military strength, has avoided initiating incidents. However, the Lebanon army and UNIFIL do not act to demilitarize south Lebanon and to oust the terrorist organizations and their weapons, as demanded by Resolution 1701, nor do they effectively hamper Hezbollah in its military rehabilitation. Hezbollah continues its routine operational activities in south Lebanon while adapting to the new situation, enabling it to deal easily with Lebanese army and UNIFIL actions.

B. Regarding north Lebanon : Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations (including groups belonging to the global jihad and the Palestinian terrorist organizations based in the refugee camps) were not disarmed. No serious attempt was made by the Lebanese government to deal with them. In Beirut and the Beqa'a Valley (as in the south), Hezbollah's military infrastructure continues its rehabilitation with no meaningful interference. The embargo on delivering weapons to Hezbollah is not enforced and arms continue regularly to cross the Syrian-Lebanese boundary. (The Lebanese army's impounding of a truckload of Katyushas was an exceptional act and not part of an overall policy.) The two abducted IDF soldiers held by Hezbollah are still in captivity and the Lebanese government does nothing to secure their release.

5. The crisis faced by the Lebanese government over the past few months, manifested by Hezbollah's efforts to collapse Fuad Seniora's government, also makes it difficult to enforce Security Council Resolution 1701. The Lebanese government is struggling to survive and avoids challenging Hezbollah's status in south Lebanon , and the Lebanese army has even had to move troops from the south to Beirut to deal with the internal crisis. The developments have an impact and are liable to influence UNIFIL's resolve to carry out its mission in supporting the Lebanese army in implementing Security Council Resolution 1701.

6. The quiet and lack of incidents that have prevailed in south Lebanon since the end of the second Lebanon war are to a great extent a function of Hezbollah's focus on rearming. However, the situation may change, and in our assessment the more progress Hezbollah makes, the more daring and willing it will become to initiative incidents and increase the erosion of the implementation of Resolution 1701. Hassan Nasrallah's growing self-confidence was manifested in a defiant speech given on February 16, in which he publicly admitted the his organization was rearming and secretly moving weapons to south Lebanon . 2

7. This document has two appendices:

A. Appendix I : A comparison between the main points of Resolution 1701 and its implementation (as of February 2007)

B. Appendix II : Maps of the Lebanese army and UNIFIL deployment in south Lebanon.

Maps:
www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/res_1701e0307.htm

1 For further information see our August 13 Bulletin entitled “Analysis of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 to end the war and an examination of its significance (primary evaluation),” .

2 For further information see our February 23 Bulletin entitled “Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah publicly admits that his organization is rearming and secretly transporting arms to south Lebanon, in blatant violation of Security Council Resolution 1701. ,” .

Hizbullah military zones off limits to the UN under a deal between Hizbullah and the Lebanese

From The Guardian:

Suspicion of UN troops grows in south Lebanon
… International forces are favouring Israel, say locals
… Fears of fresh conflict as Hizbullah's forces regroup

Six months after a UN-brokered ceasefire ended Israel's war with Hizbullah, scepticism about the role of 10,000 UN troops is growing in south Lebanon amid signs that the militant Shia group is retraining and re-equipping its forces.

The international force, deployed to keep the peace and support the expansion of the Lebanese army's authority over the previously Hizbullah-controlled south, is perceived by villagers to be favouring Israel. "They are not our guests any more," said Hajj Ali, a revered Hizbullah fighter from the large southern town of Bint Jbeil, who limps from an injury sustained during the summer war. "If they continue to help the Israelis we will have to take action against them."

The UN official also said there had been an increase in Hizbullah activity north of the Litani river, outside Unifil's jurisdiction. "There will be another war in the summer," Hajj Ali said. "It is the beginning of the end for Israel; we are preparing."

What was the Litani River Operation?

Using Lebanon as a base, Palestinian fighters mounted intermittent cross-border attacks against civilian and military targets in Israel. There were also international terrorist spectaculars, e.g., the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, perpetrated by groups based in Lebanon. In turn, the Israelis struck back at targets and groups across the border in Lebanon from time to time.

After the March 11, 1978 Bus Hijacking on the Coastal Road, Israel launched a major military incursion into South Lebanon, called the Litani River Operation. Israel crossed into southern Lebanon on March 15 and struck at PLO terrorist bases and staging areas south of the Litani River, up to ten kilometers deep inside the country. Twenty-one IDF soldiers were killed before the operation ended on March 21, 1978.

The operation prompted a formal statement of "United States Concern With the Territorial Integrity of Lebanon," calling for Israeli withdrawal and discussing a United Nations role in Lebanon. On March 19, 1978, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 425 calling for Israeli withdrawal and establishing an international peace-keeping force for South Lebanon, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), to enable the establishment of a buffer zone in southern Lebanon free of terrorists.

By June Prime Minister Begin, under intense American pressure, withdrew Israeli forces, which were replaced by UNIFIL. The withdrawal of Israeli troops without having removed the PLO from its bases in southern Lebanon became a major embarrassment to the Begin government. The cross-border cycle of attack and retaliation continued, and the PLO expanded its bases, forces, and armaments in Lebanon. Finally, Israel was forced to respond with its 1982 invasion and occupation of southern Lebanon. The UNIFIL force of about 3,500 is still deployed in 2002.

Sources and additional reading on this topic:

Lebanon
UNIFIL
The history of the PLO and the International Legitimization of Terrorism
Israeli Action in Lebanon, 1978-82
UN Security Council Resolution 425
Why Israel rejects "observers"