By NNN-KUNA
United Nations : Lebanon has accused Israel of violating all aspects of resolution 1701, which put an end to the war between Hezbollah and Israel in the summer of 2006, and of fabricating “unsubstantiated allegations” of illicit movements across the border with Syria.
“We request again that any information about the illegal smuggling of arms or persons in the possession of any third country be shared with us directly or through the UN. Unsubstantiated allegations of illicit movements across the border serve no useful purpose,” a Lebanese government position paper circulated here Tuesday said. The paper was conveyed by Lebanese envoy Nawaf Salam in two identical letters to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council president prior to Ban’s periodic report on the issue.
“Not only is Israel challenging Lebanese sovereignty and security, but it is also bluntly keeping UNIFIL from executing its duty,” according to the paper.
The paper said that in early February, Israel confronted Spanish troops in UNIFIL and prevented them from mending the wire on the Lebanese side of the Ghajar village.
Furthermore, it added, while Lebanon and UNIFIL began to implement the agreement to mark the Blue Line, “the Israeli Army is not being totally cooperative with this marking effort and threatens to jeopardize the whole process by tying the agreement on one mark to the agreement on another.”
It complained that the Israeli Army does not coordinate among the three parties — Lebanon, UNIFIL and Israel — to solve problems and “instead acts unilaterally on the ground.”
In fact, it added, Israel uses the tripartite meetings to make serious threats on the record, “such as threatening to bombard civilian targets in the future under the pretext that those targets are hiding military installations.”
“We reiterate that violations to our territorial sovereignty cannot be justified under any pretext, including the enforcement of the arms embargo according to resolution 1701. That resolution did not commission Israel with this task,” the paper said.
It also said Lebanon repeatedly asked that any information concerning the illegal movement of arms or personnel be shared through UNIFIL and the Lebanese Forces so that both will verify it and take the appropriate measures in this regard.
Nevertheless, it said, the Israelis “refuse to submit such information and prefer to build unsubstantiated impressions in the media instead of having it verified by the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL on the ground.”
It drew attention to the fact that the last time Israel did share the information with Lebanon and UNIFIL not only was it “too late,” but turned out to be “civilian sanitary facilities and constructions.”
“In the light of the last Winograd report, which admitted Israel was preparing for a new war, we request that such threats be taken seriously by the international community and that Israel be held responsible and reminded of its strict obligation to respect the territorial integrity of Lebanon and the relevant Security Council resolutions, in particular 1701,” the paper said.
Referring to the two Katyusha rockets that fell on the Israeli settlement of Shlomi in early January, the paper said “it has not been proved to date that they were launched from Lebanese territory.” Not even UNIFIL could prove it.
The control of the borders is a “national security interest for Lebanon,” the paper said, and Lebanese competent authorities are controlling it and maintaining a “high level of vigilance against the illegal movements of arms and materiel.”
However, “further technical and logistic support is needed to enhance their capabilities in the fulfilment of their tasks,” the paper said, adding that the control of the northern and eastern borders is a “responsibility shared by both Syria and Lebanon.”
Lebanon, therefore, needs to “establish cooperation with Syrian counterparts in a joint effort to secure the border and prevent illegal cross-border activities.”
On the Israeli cluster bombs that are contaminating the soil, the paper said Israel must give the UN “without further delay” the maps which indicate specifically where it dropped them, as they “remain a continuing threat to the civilian population in the south and represent a humanitarian crime for which Israel will have to bear responsibility and pay compensation to Lebanon.” The paper did not mention Hezbollah.
In his report to the Security Council on the implementation of resolution 1701 and the violations of the arms embargo, Ban said “all Member States in the region, in particular the Syrian Arab Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran, have a key responsibility in this regard.”
“Such violations risk further destabilizing Lebanon and the whole region,” he said.
The council is scheduled to discuss Ban’s report on March 10.