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Israel: UN learned of Hezbollah arms cache months ago
By Barak Ravid, Zvi Bar'el, Amos Harel and Jack Khoury
Tags: Hezbollah, Israel News 

UNIFIL learned a few months ago about the cache of Katyusha rockets that exploded in the southern Lebanese village of Hirbet Salim last Tuesday, a government source in Jerusalem said. The source said UNIFIL had precise information about the cache and a number of other installations where Hezbollah is storing rockets, but that UNIFIL had done nothing.

A discussion is scheduled in the UN Security Council for late August on renewing UNIFIL's mandate in southern Lebanon; Israel hopes last week's explosion will show the need to strengthen UNIFIL. Israel believes that UNIFIL could sharpen its rules of engagement and act more forcefully with the Lebanese army in southern Lebanese villages.

Government officials dealing with the Lebanon issue say UNIFIL soldiers encounter armed Hezbollah fighters or are detained by them, but the incidents do not appear in the reports submitted to the Security Council.
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On Saturday it was reported that that area residents prevented UNIFIL soldiers from searching an abandoned building near the building that blew up last week, in which it is believed Hezbollah stored weapons, against UN Security Council resolution 1701. A Lebanese security official said dozens of civilians surrounded UNIFIL vehicles and blocked the road leading to the building. The UNIFIL forces retreated with the assistance of the Lebanese army.

Earlier, Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech marking a year since the exchange of Lebanese prisoners for the bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev; the Hezbollah leader said Israel still held one Lebanese prisoner and a number of bodies, and that there is still uncertainty surrounding the disappearence of four Iranian diplomats.

Nasrallah said he would continue working to bring back all Lebanese prisoners and remains from Israel, implying that the Lebanese government is not up to the task.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah "allowed" 12 Lebanese civilians to infiltrate a few dozen meters into Israeli territory on Mount Dov on Saturday near Shaba Farms, raising a Lebanese flag. They returned to Lebanon shortly thereafter. The Israel Defense Forces said it did not respond because the civilians were unarmed and not dangerous.

The border between Israel and Lebanon in the area is not fenced. IDF lookouts said the group, which included children, also had a Hezbollah flag, but did not raise it.

Israeli forces were placed on alert and the IDF informed UNIFIL command of the matter, asking them to intervene. By the time the UNIFIL force went to the site, the group was on its way back to Lebanese territory.

Security officials say the civilian incursion was intended to draw attention away from the explosion, which embarrassed Hezbollah, as it revealed the presence of weapons in southern Lebanon.

A senior defense official told Haaretz that he believed Hezbollah does not want to escalate the situation in the north, but that the group was seeking to attack Israeli targets abroad.

The infiltration of civilians onto Mount Dov is also apparently connected to Saudi and American pressure on Syria to demarcate its border with Lebanon to bring about an Israeli withdrawal from Shaba Farms. Such an Israeli withdrawal would neutralize Hezbollah's justification to continue to remain an armed group to liberate occupied Lebanese territory. Nasrallah is not part of these diplomatic efforts and views them as an Israel-American-Saudi "plot."

Hezbollah says the government and foreign interests are not the "owners" of the Shaba Farms "project," and if anyone is to make political hay from an Israeli withdrawal, it must be Hezbollah.

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      1.   UNIFIL not working 02:26  |  Peter Williams 19/07/09
      2.   HOW could Hezb import 30000 missiles etc without UNIFIL knowing? 02:32  |  PETER SM 19/07/09
      3.   when there`s nothing more to liberate who will liberate Lebanon - 02:50  |  ivo 19/07/09
      4.   Informed what? 03:06  |  L 19/07/09
      5.   Perhaps someone should tell UNIFIL why they are in Lebanon? 03:20  |  Murray of Montreal 19/07/09
      6.   What do you want UNIFIL to do? They`ll get smashed 03:31  |  Dan 19/07/09
      7.   If US allowed for settlement expansion 03:41  |  Ice 19/07/09
      8.   Had it been the reverse 03:51  |  Christopher 19/07/09
      9.   NEVER EVER 03:54  |  VIPER 19/07/09
      10.   I Am Shocked! And UNIFIL And The UN Did Not Investiagte? 04:44  |  Eli 19/07/09
      11.   UNIFIL retreated with assistance of Lebanese army 04:53  |  Raymond in DC 19/07/09
      12.   UNIFIL`s Negligence Must be escalated to UN Security Council 05:08  |  John Q. Public 19/07/09
      13.   Its Time For The UN To Not Exist Anymore 06:04  |  Shepherd 19/07/09
      14.   Historical precedent 06:14  |  Christopher 19/07/09
      15.   Let the GOI Pay 06:17  |  Mark of Lewiston 19/07/09
      16.   #7 Ice - There must be 2 Obama`s 06:22  |  Ibn Musa 19/07/09
      17.   No peace when Hezboolah 06:33  |  Chapppaqua neighbor 19/07/09
      18.   Israel exposes Hezbollah chicanary again. 06:57  |  Chas,, 19/07/09
      19.   UNIFIL 07:14  |  DT 19/07/09
      20.   Another Nahhhh, I am in shock! moment 07:18  |  Dan 19/07/09
      21.   Tattletale 07:33  |  Natallie Durson 19/07/09
      22.   The UN is violating UN resolution 07:37  |  NU 19/07/09
      23.   Can the UNO be trusted ? 07:54  |  B. Gold 19/07/09
      24.   Durson with her genious insight yet again 09:04  |  Jon 19/07/09
      25.   #22 NU - Yours is the BEST summary of UN`s contribution to peace! 09:10  |  S 19/07/09
      26.   UN lies 11:57  |  UN lies 19/07/09
      27.   #1 Peter Williams 11:59  |  Chris Linthwaite 19/07/09
      28.   What/who ignited the explosion? 12:19  |  sh 19/07/09
      29.   #10 Eli of Berkeley 12:22  |  Chris Linthwaite 19/07/09
      30.   UNIFIL 12:31  |  Rozz 19/07/09
      31.   Durson 12:48  |  Ehud 19/07/09
      32.   Mark of Lewiston #15: what are you talking about? 13:10  |  ivo 19/07/09
      33.   DAN then what are the UN doing there? 14:02  |  PETER SM 19/07/09
      34.   If UNIFIL cannot secure North Israel`s borders... 15:38  |  The Archives 19/07/09
      35.   When is the UN`s 15:57  |  Chris Linthwaite 19/07/09
      36.   #31 Ehud 16:11  |  Chris Linthwaite 19/07/09
      37.   #34 The Archives 16:21  |  Chris Linthwaite 19/07/09
      38.   To Durson (#21). You change your position as often as Haaretz 16:46  |  flyingdoc57 19/07/09
      39.   UNIFILs purpose 17:01  |  Natallie Durson 19/07/09
      40.   #15 Mark of Lewiston...yes, and the UN should get ALL 17:49  |  Lynn 19/07/09
      41.   Okay, if UNIFIL cannot ensure that there are 17:57  |  The Archives 19/07/09
      42.   Linthwaite....the UN is irrelevent 18:27  |  Lynn 19/07/09
      43.   Does Durson team hav a newbie learning during quiet weekend days? 18:27  |  Welcome aboard 19/07/09
      44.   #12 Israel should ask UNFIL to go away!!! 18:31  |  leba 19/07/09
      45.   32 Ivo - UNSC1701 18:34  |  Mark of Lewiston 19/07/09
      46.   40 Lynn - Lebanon would be a Start 18:41  |  Mark of Lewiston 19/07/09
      47.   UN must be dismantled.FDR"S dream was a fantasy.The world does 18:59  |  ks 19/07/09
      48.   International community double-crossed Israel 19:03  |  Meo 19/07/09
      49.   # Ivo don`t believe him,he`s lying 19:18  |  Jirka 19/07/09
      50.   Lynn (the UN irrelevant) 19:35  |  kofi 19/07/09
      51.   #42 Lynn 19:50  |  Chris Linthwaite 19/07/09
      52.   Chris,The UN was not irrelevant when Israel was reinvented 21:09  |  Lynn`s sympathizer 19/07/09
      53.   The UN is a Bad Joke LOL LOL LOL 22:18  |  Rodger 19/07/09
      54.   kofi, Lynn is right.the UN ceased to be relevant long ago.The 22:20  |  ks 19/07/09
      55.   The U-reliable N-etwork 00:06  |  Viewer 20/07/09
      56.   UN Relevancy 00:31  |  Walid 20/07/09
      57.   Shebaa Farms are being replaced by "prisoners still held" as Hez` 00:56  |  John Phee 20/07/09
      58.   Mark of Lewiston #45: you must`ve read the UNSC 1701 upside down 01:11  |  ivo 20/07/09
      59.   Lebanon?? 02:04  |  Michelle 20/07/09
      60.   JOKE of the century.Jerusalem under UN controll 05:20  |  PETER SM 20/07/09
      61.   JOKE of the century.Jerusalem under UN controll 05:21  |  PETER SM 20/07/09
      62.   Mark of Lewiston What this really highlights.. 07:54  |  Peter Williams 20/07/09
      63.   ks or... 13:32  |  kofi 20/07/09
      64.   ivo`s double standards 13:57  |  kofi 20/07/09
      65.   kofi to Ivo 00:27  |  Jirka 21/07/09
      66.   #58 Ivo, care to read it again......? 06:56  |  Johnboy 21/07/09
      67.   jirka to kofi see #66 12:41  |  diko 21/07/09
      68.   thanks, Jirka, & would`ve expected something better from Johnboy 13:39  |  ivo 21/07/09
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