Lebanon is neglecting its duty to disarm Hezbollah, Dutch parliament members from across the political spectrum said Thursday at a discussion with the foreign minister in The Hague.

The second largest opposition party (VVD) demanded the government withdraw its contingent to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) by August, due to the force's "obvious inefficiency."

Other political movements were less explicit in their criticism of the Lebanese government. Their representatives demanded Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen explain exactly what the Lebanese government was doing to foil Hezbollah's weapons smuggling.

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They reminded Verhagen and Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop that UNIFIL forces could act only upon Lebanese request, and were not authorized to engage Hezbollah on their own initiative. The MPs suggested UNIFIL's orders needed to be revised if the Lebanese were indeed not doing enough to ensure Israel's security.

Verhagen responded by expressing doubt as to whether Hezbollah was receiving weapons. "There are some rumors of weapon smuggling across the Syrian border, but we have not yet seen hard evidence of this," he said.

The Netherlands has supplied two frigates to the UN mission to Lebanon.

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