Israel to UN: Lebanon ignoring Hezbollah armament
In wake of Monday's explosion at south Lebanon home of Hezbollah operative, Ambassador Shalev files official complaint with Secretary-General Ban calling for full implementation of Resolution 1701
Israeli ambassador to the UN Gabriella Shalev on Tuesday filed an official complaint with Secretary-General Ban-Ki-moon over what she said was Hezbollah's violation of Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the war between Israel and the Shiite group in 2006.
The compliant referred to Monday evening's explosion at the home of a Hezbollah operative in south Lebanon, which according to Israel proved the Shiite group was illegally storing weapons south of the Litani River in violation of the UN resolution. Shalev mentioned another explosion which took place at a Hezbollah arms cache three months ago.
"In the aftermath of the explosion, Hizbullah operatives sealed off the area and, according to reliable information, used two trucks to remove evidence from the scene to a nearby village three kilometers from Tyre Filsi," Shalev wrote in the complaint letter.
The ambassador said Hezbollah was using residents of villages in south Lebanon as human shields.
"The aforementioned incidents leave no doubt regarding Hizbullah’s modus operandi to place its military weapons and facilities in civilian villages and houses. Such use of civilians as human shields endangers their safety," Shalev wrote.
Earlier Tuesday the IDF released footage showing weapons being loaded onto trucks near the home of Hezbollah operative Abdel Nasser Issa in the southern Lebanon village of Tayr Filsi, on the outskirts of Tyre.
Issa and his son were reportedly killed Monday evening during an explosion that took place inside their home, which the IDF claims was used to store weapons.
Shalev said in the complaint that elements in the Lebanese army were purposely ignoring the rebuilding of Hezbollah's infrastructure, adding that Israel considers the Lebanese government responsible for any incident that occurs in its territory and therefore expects it to take necessary measures to prevent Hezbollah's rearmament in south Lebanon.
The ambassador demanded that UNIFIL forces stationed in south Lebanon launch an investigation into Monday's blast and called on the Security Council to address Hezbollah's rearmament when it convenes at the end of the month to discuss the implementation of Resolution 1701.
Shalev urged the Security Council to disarm Hezbollah and enforce the weapons embargo on Lebanon.
