by AP and Israel Hayom Staff
Head of peacekeeping mission in Lebanon says UNIFIL has "no evidence" of Hezbollah stockpiling illegal weapons in the area
UNIFIL vehicles in Lebanon
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Photo credit: AFP  |
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley sharply criticized
the U.N. peacekeeping commander in Lebanon on Friday, saying he is
"blind" to the spread of illegal arms and reiterating a call for the
force to do more about it.
With the United Nations Interim Force in
Lebanon's peacekeeping mission up for renewal next week, the United
States has been pressing to step up efforts to tackle what Haley
describes as a "massive flow of illegal weapons" to Hezbollah-dominated
southern Lebanon, where neighboring Israel has long complained that the
terrorist group operates with impunity.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio
Guterres is expected to visit Israel this week, where officials are
likely to broach the issue of the Shiite terrorist group's armament
efforts.
UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Michael Beary
pushed back this week on U.S. and Israeli criticism, saying his force
has no evidence of weapons being illegally transferred and stockpiled in
the area, and that "if there was a large cache of weapons, we would
know about it."
"Gen. Beary says there are no Hezbollah
weapons. That's an embarrassing lack of understanding of what's going on
around him," Haley lashed at the Irish general, saying there was ample
evidence, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's own boasts.
Beary "seems to be the only person in south
Lebanon who is blind to what Hezbollah is doing," she said, adding that
his view of the situation "shows that we need to have changes" in the
mission.
Asked about her comments, U.N. spokesman
Stephane Dujarric said the organization has full confidence in Beary's
work and noted that the debate over the mission would play out in the
Security Council.
Guterres told the Security Council in a letter
that he intends to look at ways for the peacekeeping force to "enhance
its efforts," but he stressed that it's primarily the Lebanese
military's responsibility to ensure the south is free of unauthorized
weapons.
The UNIFIL peacekeeping mission dates back to
1978, and was expanded after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah
so that peacekeepers could deploy along the border with Israel to help
Lebanese troops extend their authority into the south for the first time
in decades.
Haley has said the United States wants
"significant improvements" to the peacekeeping force, though she said
Friday that doesn't mean changing the overall mandate but rather some
language.
"It's time the Security Council puts teeth in the UNIFIL operation," she said. "We don't need to be giving terrorists a pass."
Discussions are ongoing, and it's not clear how keen the council will be on the U.S. approach.
Israel's Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon urged the Security Council to give the peacekeeping force a wider mandate.
"UNIFIL cannot remain blind in the face of
Hezbollah's dangerous armament in southern Lebanon. I urge the Security
Council to approve a more effective mandate for UNIFIL, which will deal
with the threats posed by Hezbollah," he said.
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said
that the mandate should be renewed as is and added that other countries
had voiced the same view during a council discussion.
French Deputy Ambassador Anne Gueguen, whose country is
in charge of drafting a proposed renewal, said it was "of paramount
importance for the stability of Lebanon and the region, and in the best
interest of all, that UNIFIL keeps its mandate and is in a position to
fulfill it."
AP and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=44897
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