Another UN SC resolution violation ignored, goes unreported by the BBC - by Hadar Sela

...Predictably – given its already poor record of informing audiences about Hizballah violations of that UN SC resolution – the BBC has to date not found this story newsworthy.

Hadar Sela..
BBC Watch..
26 June '17..

As has been noted here on numerous occasions in the past, the BBC not only routinely ignores the topic of Hizballah’s continuous violations of UN Security Council resolution 1701, but has even whitewashed them.

In April of this year BBC News chose to ignore the story of Hizballah conducting press tours in an area in which, according to that resolution, it is not supposed to operate and another story that emerged last week looks likely to get the same treatment.

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Hezbollah, lessons learned and the broken shards of glowing accomplishments

...Resolution 1701 offers a sobering reflection of what will become of the deal to disarm Assad of his WMDs. The broken shards of the 1701 mirror further forewarn us about how Obama’s America will thwart Iran’s nuclear designs. No propitious prospects ahead.

Sarah Honig..
Another Tack..
20 September '13..

What’s the likely outcome of the US-Russia accord on Syria’s chemical arsenal? Look no further than what happened to UN Resolution 1701 of seven years ago. That resolution, which ended the Second Lebanon War and which purportedly eliminated Hezbollah’s missile armories, is a mirror image of the non-disarmament-to-come.

It is also Tzipi Livni’s self-proclaimed crowning achievement during her stint as then-PM Ehud Olmert’s foreign minister. To any visitor from Mars who may be uninformed, self-same Livni is currently in charge of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

Resolution 1701 is a sad object lesson about the immoral malfunction of high-minded international agreements to destroy dangerous weapons stockpiles. The Syrian counterpart may not evolve in identical patterns but its inevitable bottom line will be no different than that of the dismal gag that Resolution 1701 turned out to be.

Worst of all, no one seems to dwell on that out-of-mind resolution, no one remembers. The widespread affectation is that everything is peaches and cream, as if the international intervention worked wonders. It’s as if wholesale deception has never been perpetrated. It’s as if no one recognizes that nothing whatsoever went to plan.

The pretense is just too sweet and alluring an option to pass up. Truth is too painful, persistent and unpleasant a bother with which to cope.

And a footnote – the central protagonist of today’s chemical weapons saga, Bashar Assad, was also centrally complicit in hoodwinking the entire international community in the Resolution 1701 context. That gave him valuable and pertinent experience for extricating himself from the conditions lately imposed on him by Washington and Moscow. The British-trained ophthalmologist is a formidable, steel-nerved past master.

Here’s a brief reminder.

On the ordinary summer morning of July 12, 2006, Hezbollah terrorists killed eight Israeli soldiers on a patrol inside Israel. They further kidnapped two corpses and negotiated for ransom as if they held live hostages. That unprovoked aggression triggered the Second Lebanon War, which was to escalate into a month-long conflict during which the Lebanon-based Hezbollah fired over 4,000 rockets at Israeli civilians, caused death and destruction and brought life in the northern half of Israel to a veritable halt.

The trauma brought home the reality that in the years that had elapsed since the unilateral midnight retreat ordered by Prime Minister Ehud Barak in May, 2000, Hezbollah had amassed a rocket arsenal that poses a real danger to Israel. It is crucially distinct from an annoying nuisance.

The conclusion of 2006’s eminently unsuccessful war (from Israel’s vantage point) was facilitated by UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which appeared to salvage some vestiges of Olmert’s/Livni’s waning prestige. The Resolution was embraced by Israel as well as Lebanon, including the Hezbollah contingent in the Beirut parliament.

It all seemed good and the promise encapsulated in the resolution was hawked enthusiastically by Livni as a glowing accomplishment.

But now, years later, we can take realistic stock. Did the missile stockpiles disappear from next door? Are we safer? Were the bright promises fulfilled?

Hezbollah's creative solution to housing crisis for poor Shiite families

Ron Ben-Yishai..
Israel Opinion/Ynet..
10 February '13..

During a cold winter's day in late January on the Biranit mountain range, which overlooks south Lebanon, I noticed that dozens, if not hundreds of new buildings had been built in Bint Jbeil, Maroun al-Ras, Aita al-Shaab and Barmish. There is almost no remnant of the devastation the region sustained during the Second Lebanon War, and even without binoculars it was evident that the Shiite communities have expanded significantly compared with the few Christian-Maronite villages in the area, which remained the same size, more or less. This expansion was made possible in part by funds allocated by Iran and the Arab states towards the rehabilitation of the Shiite villages in the aftermath of the 2006 war with Israel, but it was mainly the result of Hezbollah's decision to revolutionize its preparedness for a conflict with Israel and move its forces from the open areas to the villages.

Hassan Nasrallah's organization has found that it is more difficult to deal with IDF soldiers and their superior firepower in open areas. Moreover, UN Resolution 1701 from 2006 forbids Hezbollah gunmen from carrying weapons in open areas. Therefore, Hezbollah has moved from bases in "nature preserves" to designated areas within the villages from which it can launch rocket or other attacks against Israel. The evacuated nature reserves no longer serve as permanent bases, and instead are meant to be used as bases for launching raids on Israeli communities in the Galilee.

At the same time, the Shiite terror group launched a major social/real-estate project that bolstered its political standing: It purchased lands on the outskirts of the villages, built homes on these lands and offered them to poor Shiite families at bargain prices (to rent or buy), one the condition that at least one rocket launcher would be placed in one of the house's rooms or in the basement, along with a number of rockets, which will be fired at predetermined targets in Israel when the order is given.

In addition, Hezbollah has set up camouflaged defense positions in villages which contain advanced Russian-made anti-tank missiles it had received from Syria. Hezbollah gunmen have planted large explosive devices along the access roads, and inside the villages structures that were purchased by the organization were converted into arms caches. The Hezbollah gunmen are focusing their efforts on finding ways to hide underground to protect themselves from IDF fire and to prevent Israeli intelligence from tracking them down so they will be able to continue fighting even when IDF forces are nearby.

Livni's Folly – UN Security Council 1701

Dr. Aaron Lerner..
IMRA Weekly Commentary..
27 December '12..

Fans of Tzipi Livni like to assert that she demonstrated her skills in diplomacy when she ostensibly stood firm on the right of return in her talks with Palestinians – refusing to allow any refugees in. But the fact is that those talks were only a cover for the real negotiations the Prime Minister Olmert was carrying out at the very same time with Mahmoud Abbas. Negotiations during which Olmert offered incredible concessions – including the return of refugees. So given that the Livni talks weren’t the real talks, and that it is reasonable to assume that Livni also knew that this was the case, it’s stretch to draw any conclusions about Livni's true capabilities from these essentially fake talks.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that concluded the Lebanon war, on the other hand, is a different story. Then Foreign Minister Livni was Israel's point man on 1701.

1701 has been a farce. The international force never stopped the flow of weapons. Hizbullah deployed up to the fence. In fact, when their weapons blow up they bar the international force from even approaching the area. It is interesting to read what Livni said herself about UNSC 1701 in a briefing she held on August 13, 2006 following Israel's acceptance of 1701.

Overlooking southern Lebanon? The Iranian proxy force up there has not

Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbullah leader, addresses the faithful 
from a hidden (and secure) location, August 2012 [Image Source]

Frimet/Arnold Roth..
This Ongoing War..
25 December '12..

It's relatively quiet on Israel's Lebanon border for the moment and a good time to pay attention to the things going on their that don't get reported outside of Israel.

Things like this matter of explosions in rural villages that have the grim misfortune of being occupied by the Hizbullah terrorist forces.

In the early morning of 17 December, a loud explosion was heard in the town of Tair Harfa in southern Lebanon... 2.5 kilometers from the Israeli border. Lebanese media did not report any injuries, and this was confirmed by the mayor of Tair Harfa... The explosion occurred in a munitions depot belonging to Hizbullah. The building where the munitions were stored is located on the outskirts of the town near residential dwellings. There is a school about 300 meters from the munitions depot. Immediately following the explosion, dozens of Hizbullah men sealed off the area and proceeded to erase all evidence of the incident, flattening the warehouse and removing what was left of the arms and explosives that had been stored there. UNIFIL soldiers arrived in the area, but access to the actual site of the blast was blocked by Hizbullah. Lebanese army soldiers were also denied access to the site.

This is the fourth explosion that has occurred in the last few years in Hizbullah munitions depots in South Lebanon... UN Security Council Resolution 1701... calls for the disarmament of the Hizbullah and prohibits the storage of arms near the border with Israel. The Hizbullah's military network in southern Lebanon includes munitions depots as well as military outposts. Most of the military infrastructure is located in populated areas, in dozens of Shiite villages in the south... The arms, missiles and explosives are stored near residential homes and other civilian buildings such as schools and mosques. Hizbullah is endangering innocent Lebanese civilians, in order to conceal its military activity in southern Lebanon, in direct contravention of UN Resolution 1701.

Experience tells us no one in the international news media is going to pay any attention to yet another series of Arab-on-Arab attacks. They will rouse themselves only when Hizbullah's well-entrenched and armed-up-the-wazoo irregulars open fire on Israel villages, towns and cities whereupon Israel will hit back. [more]
The presence of Iran-funded and Iran-inspired Hizbullah is hardly new. A bevy of UN conventions, multilateral agreements and Lebanese undertakings mean nothing if we are thinking of disarmament and supervision (the UN's soldiers are told by the Hizbullah that they can't look in - and no one does anything about it). When Hizbullah decides it's time to open fire, there will be war, and Israel - which cannot absorb the mass damage that will follow from the firing of even parts of the vast Hizbullah arsenal of south-pointing rockets (an astounding 50,000 of them, according to a report this week) will have no military or political option other than to deliver devastation to the places from which Hizbullah is firing.

(Continue)

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Isn't Someone Missing From This UNIFIL Meeting?

Daled Amos
18 October '10

Narharnet reports:

UNIFIL Says Lebanese, Israeli Armies Stressed Commitment to 1701

UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas on Monday met with top Lebanese and Israeli military officers at a U.N. base at the Ras al-Naqoura border crossing in southern Lebanon.

The meeting tackled the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, the placing of border signs along the Blue Line, the Ghajar village issue and other topics related to the Blue Line.

The Lebanese and Israeli sides stressed their full commitment to working with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in order to implement UNSCR 1701.

It's great that Lebanon and Israel got together with UNIFIL to address the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, but wasn't there someone missing from the meeting?

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Right under the UN's noses

Arnold/Frimet Roth
This Ongoing War: A Blog
17 August '10

An uncommonly plain-spoken report from Associated Press says what Israelis have known for some time, and which is going to continue to be un-noticed and not acted upon by people outside of Israel until it's too late:

... Hezbollah is moving fighters and weapons into the villages of south Lebanon, building up a secret network of arms warehouses, bunkers and command posts in preparation for war. The Israeli military has begun releasing detailed information about what it calls Hezbollah's new border deployment, four years after a cross-border raid by its guerrillas triggered a 34-day war... Hezbollah, which is armed by Iran and Syria and is more powerful than the Lebanese military, stayed out of the Aug. 3 fight. But its leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, threatened that he would intervene next time. He has also said that if war breaks out again his forces will fire rockets into Tel Aviv. Neither side has signaled that another war is imminent, but the Israelis' unusual openness about what they claim to know of Hezbollah's preparations seems to have two goals: to show the reach of their intelligence, and to stake their claim that if another war breaks out and many civilians die, it will be because Hezbollah placed its armaments and fighters in their midst.

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The Lebanese army August 3 attack on IDF soldiers

The Lebanese army August 3 attack on IDF soldiers located 120 meters inside Israeli territory may have been a local commander's decision, but was influenced by the army's belligerent attitude toward Israel. Hezbollah did not intervene in the incident but publicly sent Israel a deterrent message coupled with an implied warning.


Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
08 August '10

Overview

1. On August 3, Lebanese army forces exchanged fire for two hours with an IDF force engaged in tree-pruning activities inside Israeli territory. (UNIFIL determined that the activities were clearly carried out within Israel.) The incident began when the Lebanese army opened fire. An Israeli battalion commander was killed and a company commander was critically wounded. As a result, the incident deteriorated into an exchange of fire lasting about two hours. Three Lebanese soldiers and a civilian were killed and several civilians were wounded (among them a correspondent for Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV, who was intensively covering the incident).

2. The Lebanese shooting attack on the IDF soldiers was an unequivocal violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.1 So far it is not clear at what level of the Lebanese army the decision was made or the order to shoot was given. In our assessment the Lebanese army's supreme command is not interested in an outbreak of military hostilities with Israel. However, it can be assumed that even if the order to open fire was not given by the Lebanese supreme military command, it was influenced by the belligerent attitude of the Lebanese army (and its brigades deployed in south Lebanon) toward Israel, an attitude also expressed by the Lebanese media.

(See full report and photos)

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Should The U.S. Continue Military Support To Lebanon?

C. Hart
American Thinker
08 August '10

When former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert signed a cease-fire agreement on August 14, 2006, after the Second Lebanon War, UN Security Resolution 1701 was adopted. Most Israelis were skeptical, because they did not believe that Lebanon's terror group, Hezb'allah would abide by the agreement, and they were right.

According to the minutes of the UN meeting that transpired, "the Security Council created a buffer zone free of ‘any armed personnel' -- both Hezb'allah militants and Israeli troops -- between the United Nations-drawn Blue Line in southern Lebanon and the Litani River (12 miles from the Israeli border), and called for both Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire and comprehensive solution to the crisis."

The text also emphasized, "the importance of the government of Lebanon extending its control over all Lebanese territory," and called upon that government, "to secure its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry, without its consent, of arms or related material." It further decided, "that all States shall take the necessary measures to prevent, ‘by their nationals or from their territories or using their flag vessels or aircraft', the sale or supply of arms and related material of all types, to any entity or individual in Lebanon." (http://www.un.org/)

The Power and Influence of Hezb'allah




Since then, Iran and Syria have sent truck loads of advanced weapons systems to Hezb'allah terrorists, which have been allowed in by the Lebanese government, and ignored by the Lebanese army. Thanks to the Iranians and Syrians, Hezb'allah has acquired 40-50,000 short, medium and long-range missiles which can now penetrate into the heart of the Jewish State, potentially hitting major Israeli population centers like Tel Aviv. In addition, Hezb'allah has reportedly received Scud missiles from Syria, and the terrorist group is being trained by Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

What Israel had hoped for was that UNIFIL "peacekeepers" assigned to south Lebanon, would keep Hezb'allah from building up its forces and military arsenal south of the Litani River. Instead, Hezb'allah now has missiles and weapons stored in homes, schools, mosques and hospitals in 160 south Lebanese villages close to the Israeli border. They have at least 200 fighters at the entrances to those villages, and have prepared explosive devices and booby traps for the IDF, in the event of a future war. At least 20-30,000 militia fighters are part of Hezb'allah forces today.

UNIFIL has failed to prevent Hezb'allah from re-arming since the implementation of 1701 after the Second Lebanon War. Because the IDF has penetrated Hezb'allah intelligence operations, UNIFIL now knows that Hezb'allah has taken over homes within four kilometers of the Israeli border. The terrorist group is reportedly digging tunnels, building bunkers, and hoping to infiltrate IDF posts where they can kidnap or kill Israeli soldiers. Hezb'allah is also improving its command and control centers in south Lebanon.

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Coincidence rarely explains events in southern Lebanon

Michael Young
The National (UAE)
14 July '10

The recent tension in southern Lebanon between villagers and the United Nations force, Unifil, was no coincidence. Hizbollah, which tightly controls the south, saw an opportunity to send several messages, while issuing a warning to the international peacekeepers that their freedom to manoeuvre was limited.

The ostensible cause of the confrontations was ambiguity in interpreting UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the summer 2006 war between Hizbollah and Israel. The resolution grants Unifil the right to take “all necessary action” to implement UN conditions in the south and to “assist” the Lebanese army. However, Shiite villagers, pushed by Hizbollah, have reinterpreted this mandate, saying the force can only carry out inspections in the presence of the Lebanese army. When Unifil did not do so, the inhabitants of two villages blocked patrols and assaulted troops.

Initially, the Lebanese army and government failed to back up the UN. The angry response of states contributing soldiers to Unifil led to a meeting of the Security Council last week. Lebanon backtracked, vowing to continue co-operating with the UN. However, the incidents in the south confirmed once again that Hizbollah has substantial control over the Lebanese army, particularly the army’s intelligence services.

Complicating matters, Hizbollah’s commander in southern Lebanon, Sheikh Nabil Qawouq, said on Sunday that the army had discovered that Israel had asked Unifil to search particular houses in the south. There was no evidence whatsoever for the charge, but it did widen the rift between Unifil and villagers, while making it seem that the Lebanese army opposed the international force.

Behind the façade of hostility to the UN, Hizbollah has more intricate calculations. The party’s freedom to act both politically and militarily is essential to its role as an extension of Iran on the Israeli border. Hizbollah’s weapons serve many purposes. They are a deterrent against an Israeli or American attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, but also an instrument of retaliation if one occurs. They also allow the party to dominate Lebanon’s Shiites, who view the weapons as a means of self-defence and an assertion of communal supremacy.

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The Trouble with International Forces

Evelyn Gordon
Contentions/Commentary
14 July '10

The latest argument by Palestinian flacks like Haaretz reporter Akiva Eldar is that with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas having agreed to host an international force such as “UNIFIL or NATO” in the West Bank following an Israeli withdrawal, Israel has no more security worries and therefore no excuse for any delays in reaching an agreement on such a withdrawal.



But anyone who actually believes that Israel can or should rely on “an international force to defend Israel’s well-being” should consider the latest news on UNIFIL’s mission in south Lebanon.

As defined by UN Security Council Resolution 1701, this mission is, inter alia, to “assist the Lebanese armed forces” in making the south of the Litani River “an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL.”

But a few weeks ago, something dreadful happened: a French contingent of UNIFIL actually tried to carry out this mission. It began using sniffer dogs to detect illegal weapons and explosives and insisted on searching homes and yards where it had reason to believe Hezbollah was stockpiling such arms.

The immediate result was a series of clashes apparently either staged or encouraged by Hezbollah between Lebanese villagers and UNIFIL troops. In the most serious incident, villagers hurled stones at the peacekeepers, seized their weapons, and vandalized their vehicle.

The second result was that, at the end of last week, UNIFIL agreed to stop using sniffer dogs and refrain from entering homes and yards – or, in other words, to stop carrying out its mission of detecting illegal Hezbollah weapons. Its commander, Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas, followed that up with a fawning apology for the “mistakes,” published in the Lebanese press as an open letter to the Lebanese people.

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How's 1701 working out?

Soccer Dad
08 July '10

via memeorandum

Hezbollah continues to re-arm despite resolution 1701.

In a briefing to journalists, Israel Defense Forces Colonel Ronen Marley revealed previously classified photographs to show what he said was a unit of 90 Hezbollah militants operating in the village of Al-Hiyam, where they were storing weapons close to hospitals and schools.

"Hezbollah is establishing itself with increasing strength in the villages," Marley said. "Every day they are collecting significant intelligence on our forces along the border and every day they are engaged in digging, building and laying communications infrastructure to prepare themselves for war."

In the four years since Israel fought a month-long war with Hezbollah, the IDF had collected data on thousand of targets to be bombed by Israel in the event of renewed hostilities, Marley said.

In the last war, much of the fighting took place on open scrubland, he said. But the deployment of United Nations forces in southern Lebanon had forced Hezbollah into built up areas where troops from the international UNIFIL force have no authority.

The IDF believes Hezbollah has an arsenal of some 40,000 short and medium range rockets stored in towns and villages south of the Litani River, with many of the weapons stored in private houses.

Given the failure of 1701, I guess this is good news: Iran is keeping a tight rein on Nasrallah and Hezbollah:

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They are scared of Hezbollah

Hanin Ghaddar
NOW Lebanon
03 July '10

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 was passed to ensure that Lebanon enjoys full sovereignty and control over all its territories. However, the incidents that occurred in South Lebanon earlier in the week have proved that certain parties are set on undermining the resolution’s aims.

One day before UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued his 13th report on UNSCR 1701, residents in 22 villages in the South took to the streets, blocked roads and attacked UNIFIL troops with stones to protest the increased presence of the UN peacekeepers in the South.

The countries contributing to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon are concerned that their freedom of movement has been compromised. According to Michael Williams, the UN’s special coordinator for Lebanon, “UNIFIL’s exercise in the area was carried out as part of its normal operations and with full respect of its mandate.”

UNSCR 1701 calls on Hezbollah to disarm and authorizes UNIFIL to “take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind, to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council…”

But as the Lebanese army failed to issue a statement on the incident to clarify the situation, Hezbollah declared its dissatisfaction with UNIFIL. In an interview with As-Safir newspaper on Friday, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said that “UNIFIL must pay attention to what it does and realize that any excess only serves to cause worry and harm trust between the force and residents,” adding that if the government cannot protect border village residents, then they will have to find a way to protect themselves.

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UNIFIL: "The Worlds Most Expensive Summer Camp"

Daled Amos
29 April '10
Posted before Shabbat

Michael Rubin writes about the utter failure of UNIFIL to do what it was supposed to:

The rearming of Hezbollah -- to the point that, as Secretary Gates points out, they now have more missiles than most countries -- highlights the utter failure of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. What was a force of slightly less than 2,000 men, before the 2006 war, ballooned in the aftermath of the end of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 ending that war into more than 11,000 troops -- the budget for which, this year, is more than $500 million. Rather than maintain peace or prevent Hezbollah's rearmament, UNIFIL has become, in effect, the world's most expensive summer camp.

Not only has UNIFIL failed in its mission, but its continued presence in southern Lebanon has also transformed it into a human shield for Hezbollah. UNIFIL's deployment has convinced Hezbollah that they can rearm without consequence.

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After Leaking Syria Didn't Give Missiles to Hizballah, The State Department Wakes Up and Condemns the Syrian Regime

Barry Rubin
The Rubin Report
20 April '10

Better late than never. But what is the Obama Administration going to do about? Note that this is said to be the fourth violation. Stay tuned for the fifth, sixth, and so on, all having no effect on the attempt to "engage" Syria.

"For Immediate Release April 19, 2010/2010/480

"STATEMENT BY DEPUTY SPOKESMAN GORDON DUGUID

"The most senior Syrian diplomat present in Washington today, Deputy Chief of Mission Zouheir Jabbour, was summoned to the Department of State to review Syria’s provocative behavior concerning the potential transfer of arms to Hizballah. This was the fourth occasion on which these concerns have been raised to the Syrian Embassy in recent months, intended to further amplify our messages communicated to the Syrian government. Our dialogue with Syria on this issue has been frank and sustained. We expect the same in return.

"The United States condemns in the strongest terms the transfer of any arms, and especially ballistic missile systems such as the SCUD, from Syria to Hizballah.

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