U.N. chief criticizes Israel, Lebanon
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 15, 2:25 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday criticized
Israel and Lebanon for violating the resolution that ended last summer's Israeli-Hezbollah war, and suggested an independent mission examine the monitoring of their border amid allegations of arms smuggling.
In a report to the
U.N. Security Council, Ban cited violations by both countries of the U.N.-drawn boundary known as the Blue Line, Israeli claims of arms smuggling across the Lebanese-Syrian border, and Hezbollah claims that it is rebuilding its armed presence and has plenty of weapons.
In considering further steps to ensure full implementation of the arms embargo in the resolution, the new U.N. chief suggested that council members "consider supporting an independent assessment mission to consider the monitoring of the border."
He said the authentication of detailed information from Israel about alleged breaches of the arms embargo across the Lebanese-Syrian border would require independent military assessment.
Security Council Resolution 1701 authorized the cease-fire that brought an end to 34 days of fighting between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas on Aug. 14. The war was triggered after Hezbollah guerrillas crossed Israel's northern border, killed three soldiers and returned to Lebanon with two captured Israeli soldiers.
The resolution called for both sides to respect the Blue Line drawn by the U.N. after Israel ended its 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000. It authorized 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon, which had been under de facto control of Hezbollah. And it instituted an arms embargo that blocks any entity in Lebanon except the national government from obtaining weapons from abroad.
In the report, Ban warned that without progress on "core issues" including Israeli and Lebanese prisoners, the disputed Chebaa Farms area, halting Israeli over-flights of Lebanon, and respect for the arms embargo "progress on 1701 could be severely tested in the months to come."
He singled out a significant increase in Israeli air violations by military jets and unmanned aerial vehicles in February and early March.
While the Lebanese government continues to protest that the over-flights are a serious cease-fire violation, he said Israel maintains they are "a necessary security measure" until the two abducted Israeli soldiers are released and the arms embargo is fully respected. He urged Israel to reconsider its policy.
Ban said he was nonetheless pleased that the overall commitment of the governments of Israel and Lebanon to the resolution "remains strong."
He said he also was encouraged by the near full deployment of the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL and the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon — and the absence of any other "positions" along the Blue Line, an apparent reference to Hezbollah militants who controlled the south.
"However, this report is submitted against the background of an acute and continuing political crisis in Lebanon and mounting Israeli concerns about the unauthorized transfer of arms across the Lebanese-
Syria border," he said.
Ban called on all Lebanese parties to recommit to the government's seven-point plan, which says in part that the Lebanese state should be the only authority and should be the only one with weapons.
"An understanding that incorporates the principles of no rearmament of unauthorized groups and no movement of arms other than through the consent" of the Lebanese armed forces "should also be encouraged, especially in the current volatile security environment in the country," he said.
Ban also said the Chebaa Farms, captured by Israel during the 1967 war, "remains a key issue" in implementing the resolution. The
United Nations determined that the area is Syrian. But Lebanon claims Chebaa Farms — a claim backed by Syria — and Hezbollah continues to fight over the disputed land, arguing that Israel's occupation justifies its "resistance."