Secretary General Concerned About Hezbollah Arms

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon– In remarks issued on Friday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said that the continued presence of Hezbollah’s weapons in Lebanon threatens to undermine any progress made by Israel and Lebanon in the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701.  Ban told reporters “I am worried about Hezbollah’s possession of arms.  I hope this will be resolved.”

Resolution 1701 was drafted in 2006 shortly after Israel’s July-August war against Lebanon.  The resolution stipulates that there are to be no arms within Lebanon outside of state control.  Despite the resolution, the U.N. has repeatedly stated that Hezbollah’s arsenal of rockets constitutes a serious violation of international law.

In a recent report on the implementation of the 1701 Resolution, Ban said that greater enforcement action was necessary to curb the flow of arms into Lebanon across its porous borders with Syria.  In his Friday interview, Ban stressed the importance of strict border enforcement by saying that “There is arms smuggling into the Lebanese territories and this should be stopped through patrolling the Syrian-Lebanese borders.  I have called on the Lebanese and Syrian authorities to resolve this issue through appointing a committee tasked with monitoring the borders.  I know borders are being breached and they should be watched.”

During his remarks, Ban also addressed Israeli violations of the resolution, including repeated incursions by Israeli forces into Lebanese territory.  Ban added, “There is another issue, having to do with continuous Israeli flights in Lebanese airspace, which hinders the work of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in addition to violating Lebanon’s sovereignty.”

The National News Agency in Lebanon reported on Thursday that a team of Israeli soldiers crossed a fence between Israel and Lebanon and planted espionage devices in the vicinity of Wazzani, a move that prompted the UNIFIL to be put on high alert.  In a statement released by the Presidential Palace in Baabda, a presidential spokesperson commented that “The crossing by Israeli enemy forces of the technical fence represents new, flagrant evidence of Israel’s continuing violation of Resolution 1701 and reveals its aggressive intentions in direct fashion, frustrating the orientations of the international community.”

For more information, please see:

The Daily Star- Ban Worried Over Hezbollah Arms, Sleiman Raps Israeli Breaches– 27 March 2010

NOW Lebanon- National Dialogue Will Consider Resistance’s Arms a Guarantee for Lebanon– 27 March 2010

United Press International- Hezbollah Arms a Deterrent, Officials Say– 23 March 2010

Author: Impunity Watch Archive