Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., April 22, 2008 Nisan 17, 5768 | | Israel Time: 13:07 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Maj. Gen. Claudio Graziano, left, the commander of UNIFIL, and Lebanese Brig. General Michel Haidamous, center, look at a mine detector device during a training exercise simulating an attack against a compound for UN peacekeepers, in south Lebanon. (AP) Last update - 05:55 30/12/2007 UNIFIL steps up supervision to deter Hezbollah re-armament By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: Israel, UNIFIL, Lebanon  In the past few weeks UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) forces in South Lebanon have heightened supervision of bridges and passages over the Litani River to deter Hezbollah from moving weapons from the North to the South, particularly in areas bordering Israel. UN forces say UNIFIL commander Maj.-Gen. Claudio Graziano of Italy believes the forces under his control are preventing the entry of heavy weapons into South Lebanon. Israeli officials fear that Lebanon's political instability- the country has not had a president since November 23- will contribute to a renewal of Hezbollah's power. For several months Hezbollah has been rebuilding itself, especially in the area north of the Litani. New medium- and long-range rocket units have been digging into positions and bases created in this area. The organization makes no secret of the fact that it wants to be able to move freely south of the river as well, as reflected in the major exercise i Advertisement t held a few months ago. Despite Hezbollah's boasts to the effect that the exercise proved that its military might was restored, Israeli sources stress that it was a command exercise only, without the participation of field units. UN sources note the recent decision to step up supervision of the north-to-south arms routes as well as UNIFIL activity in the Hezbollah "nature reserves" aimed at preventing militants from reoccupying these former strongholds. It must also be noted that UNIFIL has not apprehended any trucks carrying rockets or other heavy armaments. Israeli military officials express great satisfaction with UNIFIL's activities. A senior Jerusalem official singled out the European units of UNIFIL, particularly the Italian, French and Spanish contingents, for their professional manner of conduct. "They do their job and cause significant discomfort to Hezbollah," he said. "They have had quite a few successes." Senior Israeli officials who are familiar with events in Lebanon, however, express increasing unease over the effect of the current political crisis in Beirut on South Lebanon. The country's various factions have still not agreed on a presidential candidate and approval for the main candidate, army chief of staff Michel Suleiman, does not appear imminent. "The political crisis in Lebanon has suspended processes related to UN Security Council Resolution 1701," a senior Israeli official admits. "In the best case scenario, the situation in Lebanon won't improve and in the worst case it will deteriorate. We could see a return to the pre-war situation, in which Hezbollah can become more powerful unobstructed," the source said. UN officials point an accusatory finger regarding Lebanon's political crisis toward Syria, claiming that "Syria defeats every attempt at an agreement and pushes Hezbollah and its other allies in Lebanon to increase their demands all the time." They say that Syria's President Bashar Assad wants to demonstrate at any price that "nothing moves in Lebanon without him" and predict that as a result the crisis in Lebanon will continue for months to come. The main problem, as the UN officials see it, is that not enough pressure is being placed on Assad. "He will only move if he senses a threat to the stability of his regime," they said. "If the Americans were, for example, to send ships close to Lebanon's beaches, that would send a clear message to Assad, but they're not doing that." The Arab world is nearly the only means left for pressuring Assad. Next March an Arab summit is scheduled to convene in Damascus. The hope of many in Europe and in Washington is that prominent Arab states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia will boycott the conference to send Assad a clear message telling him to stop interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs. Related articles: UN votes to extend UNIFIL mandate in southern Lebanon Olmert: Lebanese army, UNIFIL are keeping Hezbollah in check Bookmark to del.icio.us   Undressed to impress Yeshiva student strips in a supermarket to protest sale of chametz during Passover. Ante up Hamas offers truce in return for a Palestinian state along Israel's pre-1967 borders.   1.   UNIFIL 06:14  |  Marc 30/12/07   2.   It is all BS and brown-nosing; where are the two kidnapped IDF 06:26  |  Marabu 30/12/07   3.   Re-arming Hizbollah 06:59  |  William 30/12/07   4.   Too little, too late. Hezbollah should have been confronted 07:14  |  Marwan مروان خوري 30/12/07   5.   lebanese: Be Careful. In the next war all areas that shelter HIZB 07:54  |  Vittorio 30/12/07   6.   I was very worried, now I can sleep better 09:02  |  Dan 30/12/07   7.   Failure in Lebanon 10:10  |  Moshe 30/12/07   8.   Lebanese: The NEXT WAR with HEZB will be YOUR DISASTER. 10:31  |  Vittorio 30/12/07   9.   Great picture sub-headline 10:56  |  Clickfool 30/12/07   10.   Israel insists on doing things that hard way 11:04  |  Natallie Durson 30/12/07   11.   # 1 marc 11:30  |  Axel 30/12/07   12.   For Marabu # 2 12:15  |  Clickfool 30/12/07   13.   Hitting Syria 14:38  |  GK 30/12/07   14.   Natallie #10, points good, conclusion flawed 22:14  |  John Phee 30/12/07   15.   Hold the Puppet Masters Responsible 22:21  |  John Phee 30/12/07   16.   John Phee & Natalie 16:40  |  rich 01/01/08   17.   War is great Business !!! 02:16  |  Dominik 02/01/08   18.   To Mods - just wondering why my posts never appear 12:56  |  Dagma/Dolly the Twin 22/04/08   19.   To Mods - just wondering why my posts never appear 13:01  |  Dagma/Dolly the Twin 22/04/08

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