UNIFIL commander: Israel violating 1701

Cross posted at Reject the UN

Now this is the pot calling the kettle black. It has been reported today that UNIFIL commander Maj.-Gen. Claudio Graziano of Italy has accused Israel of violating Security Council Resolution 1701. You remember 1701, the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hizbollah.

During a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Graziano cited the IAF forays over Lebanon and the dispute over the village of Ghajar, which he called "an open violation of 1701" and "an area under occupation."

In contrast, he said that the UN enjoyed excellent cooperation with Hizbullah and with the local Lebanese people.

"Hizbullah is one of parties that agrees with 1701," he stressed.

Graziano asserted that apart from UN troops, Lebanese soldiers and hunters, no one was armed south of the Litani River.

"We have seen some movement where one or two people were arrested but never with arms," he said.

He conceded that his soldiers were not trying to prevent weapons smuggling from Syria as demanded by the UNSC because the Lebanese government had not requested such action.

Now the terms of 1701 state:

full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of 27 July 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese State;

So when reports like this one comes up, it is just Hizbollah doing nothing.

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Kassem told the British newspaper the Guardian that the group is rearming in the wake of the Second Lebanon War and is prepared for another war this summer.

"We are prepared for the possibility of another adventure or the demand of American policy that might push the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] in that direction," said Kassem in an interview published Wednesday.

UN Secretary General Ban said that he "received information from Israel and other countries" that included evidence of arms smuggling from Syria and Iran to Hezbollah, calling it a "blatant violation" of Security Council resolutions - including the resolution that led to a cease-fire in the Second Lebanon War.

That resolution calls for all Lebanese groups do disarm, with the exception of the Lebanese army.

So you see another liar from the UN. An organization that considers anti-Semitism a valid form of expression. An organization that is corrupt as witnessed by Maj. Gen. Graziano's refusal to stop the re-arming of Hizbollah (violating 1701) and instead condemn Israel for trying to stop the re-arming. I wonder how much Hizbollah and its ally Iran paid the good general for this bit of insanity.

Is it any wonder when reports come to the attention of the Civilized world of gross violations by Hizbollah and the commander of UNIFIL tells a different story, the world starts to wonder if the UN is necessary.

The UN is no longer necessary or needed. It has become a hot bed of corruption and deceit. It is time that the US leave the Tower of Babel and take back the land on the East River through the power of Imminent Domain.