Israel Says UNIFIL Presence in Lebanon 'Unnecessary'

Israel accused the peacekeeping United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) of becoming an “excuse for Hizbullah and the Lebanese government to violate UN resolution 1701,” media reports said on Thursday.

An Israeli military source was quoted by al-Monitor as saying that “UNIFIL was supposed to be the enforcement apparatus for Security Council Resolution 1701, but in fact it has become a fig leaf,” for the resolution that was issued by the International Community in 2006.

The source accused the UNIFIL of “whitewashing Hizbullah's activity on the Blue Line, and serving as an excuse for Hizbullah and the Lebanese government to violate resolution 1701.”

The confrontation began last week when the United Nations rejected Israeli claims that Hizbullah was establishing observation posts along the border under the cover of an environmental NGO.

The Israeli military published pictures of a building near the Israeli-Lebanese border supposedly controlled by an organization called Green Without Borders.

The UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL reported that Green Without Borders members have planted trees in the area, but it "has not observed any unauthorized armed persons at the locations or found any basis to report a violation of resolution 1701," said UN spokeswoman Eri Kaneko.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, had sent a letter of protest to the Security Council with images of the alleged observation posts and maps locating them.

Dannon described the activities as a "dangerous provocation" and said Hizbullah was carrying out reconnaissance activities near the Blue Line border demarcation while posing as a civilian organization.

Israel fought a month-long war against Hizbullah in 2006, killing more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Resolution 1701 was adopted to end the war, calling for full respect of the Blue Line.