Lieberman and Guterres
Photo: EPA
Defense minister, UN chief talk about Iran threat
Defense Minister Lieberman meets with UN Secretary-General Guterres, raising issue of the Israeli prisoners held by Hamas in Gaza and the threats from Hezbollah and Iran in Lebanon.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres Monday that the situation taking hold in Lebanon in which Iran is seeking to establish precision weapons is "intolerable for Israel."
During his talks with Guterres in the capital Jerusalem, which took place shortly after separate discussions with President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Lieberman told the UN chief that Israel was “determined to prevent any security threat against Israel’s citizens?"
Defense Minister Lieberman meets with UN chief Guterres (Photo: EPA)
Turning his focus to the situation in Gaza, Lieberman accused Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of causing an escalation of hostilities, before raising the issue of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
After welcoming Guterres during his first visit to the country in his new position, he presented him with pictures and footage showing Hezbollah’s presence in the southern Lebanon, insisting that the terror group was flagrantly violating the UN Resolution UN Security Council resolutions 1701.
"Hezbollah is placing, within the residents’ homes in villages and cities along the border, military equipment, including missiles and rockets, which are pointed at Israeli citizens," Lieberman said.
Hezbollah supporters in a rally, Lebanon (Photo: AFP)
"It is the Lebanese government’s responsibility and its southern residents to know, that Israel will act with extremely great force in any conflict in which rockets and missiles are launched at its citizens," said the Yisrael Beytenu leader, substituting Netanyahu's and Rivlin’s diplomatic language for his characteristically tough-talking style.
"We have no desire to harm those uninvolved, but we also won’t remain indifferent to a situation in which they shoot at our citizens, and we will act swiftly with force and determination. UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) must fulfill its UN mandate and enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1701."
Hezbollah militants fighting in Syria alongside Assad's army (Photo: Reuters)
The defense minister then spoke about the situation on the border with Syria.
"UNDOF (United Nations Disengagement Observer Force) has an important role in stabilizing the border with Syria," he said. "We therefore support preserving its status, ensuring its security and restoring it to full functionality so that it can fulfill its mandate.
"We are in a very precarious situation, because Iran is trying to establish itself in Syria and change the geostrategic balance in the region in a way that will affect Israel, and we have no intention of allowing it."
