Erdan to the United Nations: Stop Hezbollah before it starts a regional war

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said on Wednesday that Hezbollah could wage a regional war unless the UN Security Council authorizes its peacekeeping mission to fully monitor the terrorist group’s activities.

“If not, Hezbollah could drag the entire region into a war that would only bring enormous destruction to Lebanon,” Erdan told the UNSC at its monthly meeting on the Middle East.

He urged the UNSC to increase the powers granted to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon tasked with monitoring ceasefire violations – codified under UNSC Resolution 1701 – which ended the Second Lebanese War of 2006.

UNIFIL has operated on the Lebanon-Israeli border since 1978 and has a mandate that is renewed on an annual basis. The UNSC is expected to vote on that mandate next month.

Erdan told the UNSC, “This council should take the opportunity next month to renew UNIFIL’s mandate in Hezbollah terrorist activity in southern Lebanon, assuring that UNIFIL has the tools, authority and resolve to fulfill its mandate ”

At issue, in particular, there has been increased activity on the northern border by the Iranian proxy terrorist group Hezbollah to attack Israel, particularly by its growing missile arsenal and its construction in the final years of border tunnels.

“When Resolution 1701 was passed, Hezbollah fired about ten thousand rockets at Israel. Today, it has 150,000 rockets hidden in schools, mosques and homes in Lebanon,” Erdan said.

“Iran is working day and night to help Hezbollah obtain precision-guided missiles and other advanced weapons,” he explained.

“Last week, two rockets were fired at Israel from within UNIFIL’s area of ​​operations. This is completely unacceptable,” he said.

Erden called on the UN Security Council to designate Hezbollah “as a terrorist organization outright. Why allow Hezbollah to undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty rather than act by force to weaken Hezbollah’s terrorist activity.” give?”

According to a report on Resolution 1701 covering the period from February 20 to June 18, UNIFIL has 10,401 employees from 46 countries working in southern Lebanon. It was authorized by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and presented in advance to the UNSC earlier this month. Mandate renewal.

Guterres wrote that it was important to provide greater access to UNIFIL. UNIFIL’s “freedom of movement” across the entire length of the Blue Line, as well as its area of ​​operation, remains important, Guterres explained. “The mission’s ability to conduct patrols and activities independently remains important,” Guterres explained. to be maintained as per its mandate.”

Guterres details six incidents in which UNIFIL’s patrols were blocked and in one instance accused of spying for Israel.

“I call on the Lebanese authorities to provide UNIFIL full and timely access to all locations north of the Blue Line,” Guterres said, requesting the mission’s investigation into tunnels crossing the Blue Line. Has gone.”

He alleged that the Lebanese authorities have a primary “responsibility to ensure that there are no unauthorized armed personnel, property or weapons in that area.”

Guterres also called on Hezbollah to end violations of Resolution 1701, including arms smuggling and the group’s firing of rockets toward Israel.

“The continued self-sanctioned maintenance of unauthorized weapons outside state control by Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups represents a persistent, serious violation of Resolution 1701,” Guterres wrote.

With regard to the disarmament of these groups “no progress has been made”, Guterres explained that “accusations of arms transfers to non-state armed actors continue and remain of grave concern.”

Guterres also targeted Israel for violating Lebanese airspace. Israel uses Lebanese airspace for surveillance or to conduct air strikes on Iranian-based targets.

“From February 20 to June 18, UNIFIL recorded 260 airspace violations, totaling 412 hours and 43 minutes of overflight time. Drones caused about 80% of the violations,” Guterres said.

In New York on Wednesday, Erdan said Israel could offer assistance to Lebanon with its water technology, adding that it could do the same with Iran. He painted a picture of what the region might look like if relations existed between Israel and those two enemy states.

“Lebanon is in a state of crisis. According to UNICEF, Lebanon’s water system is on the verge of collapse,” he said.

“Parts of Iran are grappling with the water crisis so severely that protesters are on the streets and the Ayatollah regime, as usual, is reacting with violence and murder,” Erdan said.

“Israel is a world leader in water management and technology,” Erden said.

Unfortunately, he said, some countries like Iran that are intent on inventing nuclear weapons and destabilizing the region are not interested in such cooperation.

“The IAEA reported this month that Iran is taking steps to produce up to 20% enriched uranium metal,” Erden explained.

“Iran has no credible civilian requirements for uranium metal research and development and production, which is an important step in the development of a nuclear weapon,” he said.