MEPE

[HBendor]

UN: Lebanon-Syria border still wide open to smugglers;
Israel: Hizbulah built sophisticated bunkers in 150 villages in south Lebanon -

UNIFIL does nothing

Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

The Hebrew edition version of the article
www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1015356.html

adds more details including that:

"Despite various applications of Israel to UNIFIL no measures were taken to
prevent the construction of the buildings. Under the mandate given to UNIFIL
as a result of Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second
Lebanon War, UNIFIL forces cannot operate within communities in south
Lebanon except via the Lebanese Army. In the current situation, the
Lebanese Army updates Hezbollah regarding all its moves, and thus Hezbollah
is able to foil the activities of UNIFIL when they come to deal with the
underground infrastructure."]

UN: Lebanon-Syria border still wide open to smugglers
By Barak Ravid and Yoav Stern Haaretz Last update - 07:47 26/08/2008
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1015169.html

Lebanon's eastern border with Syria is wide open to smugglers, according to
a report submitted to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday by a task
force he appointed to study the issue.

The report harshly criticizes both Lebanon and Syria, saying there has been
no improvement over the past year despite promises by both countries to
address the issue.

Israel has long claimed that weapons from Iran and Syria flow freely across
this border to Hezbollah, despite the embargo on such shipments imposed by
Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War in
2006. This smuggling, Israel says, has given Hezbollah an arsenal that is
both qualitatively and quantitatively superior to what it had before that
war, and may even include sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles.

In addition, Hezbollah has built a network of sophisticated underground
bunkers in some 150 villages throughout south Lebanon in recent months.
These bunkers can hold up to 15 fighters, plus rockets and rocket launchers,
and in the event of war with Israel, could serve either as missile-launching
bases or as ambushes for Israeli ground troops. Neither the UN forces in
Lebanon nor the Lebanese Army has done anything to stop construction of
these bunkers.

The task force, appointed about 18 months ago, published a previous report
in June 2007, which said that neither Syria nor Lebanon was doing anything
to stop the smuggling. The current report reiterates this conclusion.

At the official border crossings, it said, the equipment is outdated, the
personnel are poorly trained, and the inspections are inadequate to detect
smuggling. There are also several well-known unofficial border crossings,
which is where much of the smuggling occurs, and the task force found no
impediments to reaching these locations.

At Lebanon's airport and ports, it added, the situation is better, but still
unsatisfactory.


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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
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JUDEA & SAMARIA are clear and unquestionably JEWISH!

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