(TPS) Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Gilad Erdan this week submitted an official letter to the Security Council demanding that it take immediate action against Hezbollah’s military buildup and activities in southern Lebanon.
Erdan’s letter came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres submitted his quarterly report on the implementation of UN Resolution 1701.
Resolution 1701 was adopted by the Security Council and was intended to resolve the 2006 Second Lebanon War. It demands Hezbollah retreat northward to the Blue Line, and that the government of Lebanon and the UNIFIL deploy their forces in the south. Israel has repeatedly charged that Hezbollah violated the resolution on many occasions.
Guterres’ report states that Hezbollah’s military buildup violates that resolution and calls upon the government of Lebanon to take all actions necessary to ensure the disarmament of all armed groups.
“Hezbollah uses human shields to protect its arsenal of more than 130,000 rockets and military infrastructure. It systematically deprives UNIFIL of its ability to discharge its mandate by restricting the organization’s freedom of movement in an effort to hide its activity,” Erdan pointed out in his letter. He called on the Security Council to “immediately declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization and prevent it from receiving any direct or indirect assistance.”