Do you remember cease fire that ended this past summer's Israel/Hezbollah War? The one that
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, has been flaunting the fact that UNIFIL has has abdicated every one of its responsibilities. This report posted at the bottom of this article is published by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence' Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC) gives examples of Hezbollah's significant violations resolution 1701 which ended the war.
Today a possible significant development has occured, the head of the UNI-Fil of crap force (now lead by Italy) is sitting down with the IDF head of the northern command.
UNIFIL head to meet Northern Command chief 'in secret'
With mounting IDF concern over Hizbullah's post-war rearmament, OC NorthernCommand Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot will meet Tuesday, for the first time, with UNIFIL commander Maj.-Gen. Claudio Graziano at military headquarters in Safed.
The two will meet for lunch and will be joined by head of IDF Strategic Planning Brig.-Gen. Udi Dekel and Lt.-Col. Sorele Hershkovitz, head of the foreign liaison bureau in the Northern Command.
Northern Command sources said that while the lunch was scheduled to allow the commanders to become acquainted - Graziano took up his post earlier this month - they noted that Eizenkot would use the opportunity to raise several key issues with the UNIFIL commander including the continued Hizbullah presence in southern Lebanon and the smuggling of weapons from Syria to the guerrilla group.
The IDF confirmed that a meeting was scheduled between the two generals on Tuesday. But a UNIFIL spokesperson denied that there were any plans for such a meeting. IDF sources it was possible that UNIFIL was concerned of a Lebanese and Hizbullah backlash over Graziano's meeting inside Israel. The UNIFIL commander has already visited Israel and met with senior officers at the Kirya Military Headquarters in Tel Aviv earlier this month.
Eizenkot and Graziano, officials said, were likely to discuss the continued IAF overflights in Lebanon as well as the February 7 violent clashes between IDF troops and soldiers from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).
Before the meeting with Eizenkot, Graziano, an Italian officer, will attend a tripartite meeting with representatives of the IDF and the LAF the UN Position at the border crossing at Ras Al Naqoura.
Since Graziano's takeover of the UNIFIL command, the IDF, officials said, has noticed an improvement in the peacekeeping force's performance in southern Lebanon, although more could be done.
On Monday, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met with a special UN envoy to the region to assess compliance with UN Security Council resolution 1701 that ended last summer's war in Lebanon and paved the way for the establishment of the beefed up UNIFIL, now at over 12,000 soldiers from close to 30 nations.
"UNIFIL, under Graziano, is doing a good job but more can be done," claimed a top Northern Command officer. "We hope that with time UNIFIL will continue to improve."
On Sunday, intelligence officials told the cabinet that Hizbullah was rearming and was close to returning to the level of strength it maintained before this summer's Lebanon war.
"Hizbullah has one purpose and that is to destroy the State of Israel," a top official said. "That is why even though it suffered heavy losses during the war, it is only a matter of time before there is another flare-up."
The NASRALLAH REPORT from the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence' Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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. Nasrallah sends a clear message to his opponents: Hezbollah is determined to maintain its status as “the defender of Lebanon”. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Summary of Nasrallah’s speech 1. On February 16, 2007, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a belligerent, arrogant speech in a ceremony held in south Beirut (in the neighborhood of Al-Rawis) on the anniversary of the killing of two senior Hezbollah figures. In his speech, Nasrallah admitted that his organization was rearming and secretly smuggling arms and ammunition to south Lebanon , in blatant violation of Security Council Resolution 1701 (which ended the second Lebanon war). 2. Following are the highlights of Hassan Nasrallah's speech (Al-Manar Television, February 16):
Assessment 3. In his speech, Hassan Nasrallah publicly admitted that Hezbollah is rebuilding its military arsenal, damaged in the war, and even claimed that it is well within its right to do so in its capacity (according to Nasrallah) as “the defender of Lebanon”. One of the central components in the rehabilitation of the military arsenal, on which Nasrallah spoke in great detail, is the renewal and replenishment of the arms and ammunition delivered to Hezbollah by Iran and Syria . The arms and ammunition, which include Katyusha rockets (which, as Nasrallah admitted, were found in the truck confiscated by the Lebanese army), are smuggled from Syria to the Beqaa Valley and, once there, secretly transported to south Lebanon (as noted by Nasrallah in his speech). Nasrallah's arrogant language is a reflection of his increasing self-confidence and his desire to convey an uncompromising message to its opponents in Lebanon and elsewhere, according to which he will not give up his status as the “defender of Lebanon ”. 4. Nasrallah's speech clearly demonstrates that Hezbollah systematically and fundamentally violates Security Council Resolution 1701 (August 12), in defiance of the Lebanese government and UNIFIL (and, in fact, the entire international community), which bear the responsibility to implement the resolution. According to Security Council Resolution 1701, Hezbollah and other terrorist elements must be disarmed as stipulated in the Taif Accord (1989) and in the relevant Security Council resolutions. The resolution also states that the Lebanese government, with the assistance of UNIFIL, should exercise its authority across its entire territory and, within that context, to rid south Lebanon of the presence and arms of Hezbollah and the other terrorist organizations. Likewise, the resolution forbids transporting arms to Hezbollah (and the other terrorist organizations) by land, sea, and air 2 (see Appendix). 5. Contrary to Hassan Nasrallah's provocations regarding Hezbollah's rearming, he did not address the assistance his organization receives from Iran and Syria, the two countries behind Hezbollah's rehabilitation process. 3 The assistance extended by the two countries to Hezbollah is a blatant violation of Clause 15 in Security Council Resolution 1701, calling upon all countries to take the necessary measures to prevent the use of their territory or their ships and planes to provide arms, ammunition, and military equipment to unauthorized parties in Lebanon.Comparison of several clauses from Security Council Resolution 1701
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1 Referring to exchanges of fire between the Lebanese army and the IDF on the night of February 7- 8, in a region where explosive charges probably set by Hezbollah were discovered. 2 Within this context, see Information Bulletin titled: “Analysis of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 to end the war and an examination of its significance (primary evaluation)” (August 13, 2006). 3 In a conversation held by Nasrallah with Dr. Sa'd al-Din Ibrahim, who opposes the Egyptian regime and heads the Ibn Khaldoun center, Nasrallah was much less cautious. The conversation was held in January 2007, during a visit held by Dr. Sa'd al-Din Ibrahim to Lebanon, in which Nasrallah was asked whether Syria and Iran would use Hezbollah to carry out their regional plans. Nasrallah's response: “Yes, Iran assists Hezbollah since the day it was founded in 1982 in money, arms, and training, stemming from religious brotherhood and ethnic solidarity. The assistance also comes in from Syria , and everybody knows that. Hezbollah is grateful for the assistance and it would agree to receive such assistance from any Arab or Islamic party…” (Al-Hayat, February 4, 2007). |
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