Deep underground tunnels leading to reinforced concrete bunkers, large enough to hold personnel as well as stockpiles of missiles and vast supplies of food, have been constructed by Hizbullah underneath “innocent” looking homes in over 150 villages located south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon, an area in which Hizbullah is supposedly barred from operating in.
While the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 called for the disarming of the Hizbullah and barred it from operating in southern Lebanon, reality on the ground shows a different story, a Channel One report said on Monday evening. Instead of investigating the reports, UNIFIL prefers to inform the Lebanese Army charging them with the responsibility of entering the villages to check the claims. The latter inform their Hizbullah counterparts, and arrange a date to enter the villages. The soldiers are taken to the only remaining houses where underground bunkers have yet to be built. Satisfied with the findings, the Lebanese Army informs UNIFIL that there was no evidence on the ground to support the claims.
It is not just by chance that Israeli continues its air force forays over southern Lebanon, allowing it to monitor the situation and compile vital intelligence on the activities on the ground below. UNIFIL’s actions or perhaps one should say lack of action, should be viewed in a more worrying light, alarm bells should be ringing and red lights flashing.
Recent statements made by outgoing UN Ambassador Danny Gillerman add credence to an already tense and shaky situation. Gillerman declared that the UNIFIL troops were not carrying out their mandate and appeared to be laying the groundwork for another conflict between Israel and Hizbullah. “The UNIFIL should be more proactive – more aggressive in going after Hizbullah in detecting and identifying arms depots. They should be going in there not just relying on Lebanese armed forces to do so, who often work in collusion with Hizbullah,”
Gillerman said one only needs to judge the recent statements made by UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Caludio Graziano to understand where his and UNIFIL’s loyalties lie. While he busily blasted Israel for violating Resolution 1701 he noted that his cooperation with Hizbullah and its leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has never been better. He also stressed that forces under his command have not spotted any armed people operating in southern Lebanon.
But it is not just what is happening along Israel’s northern border that should cause concern. Very similar tactics, while far more primitive, are adopted by terror groups in Gaza who continue to excel themselves in the number of tunnels they have built, that enables them to smuggle not only drugs, but missiles, weapons, explosives and overseas bomb experts into the Gaza Strip. Also in Gaza ramshackle houses and buildings are no more then a front. While they are homes to countless Palestinians, what lies underneath the ground is a very different story.
Since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, many locals are lured by the chance of making a few bucks and allow terrorists to dig underneath their homes. Just like south Lebanon , in Gaza as well, terror groups enjoy massive funding from Iran, allowing the terror groups to arm themselves with the latest technology and advanced weaponry available, import bomb experts and train their forces. They are unified in their goal – to wipe Israel off the map.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak prides himself for initiating the pullout of Israeli troops from south Lebanon in 2000. Six years later Israel was forced to confront a very difficult Hizbullah, one that was armed to its teeth, hid in reinforced bunkers deep underground and had amassed thousands of missiles which it fired at Israel. A very different situation to the one IDF soldiers fought in the first Lebanon War. It is over two years since the end of the Second Lebanon War, and what has Israel achieved?
As in Gaza after the 2005 disengagement, the situation has allowed terror groups to re arm and prepare to fight any Israeli offensive. In the North, the story is the same, the names of the players differ. If this is the situation, one may ask, what is the point in upholding UN Resolutions which are totally useless, and fail to be implemented on the ground. What is the point in demanding that effective sanctions be taken to prevent Iran and Syria from pouring their funds and weapons to terrorists' hands, when the exact opposite occurs?
Thousands of missiles are already aimed at Israel, it is not a question of when they will hit the heart of Israel because they will, and when they do they will hit major Israeli cities, the home front will become Israel's next battle front. It is not a question of when the next conflict will occur. The question is why does the world sit quietly and allow UN resolutions to be ignored? Weapons and funds continue to flow into terrorists’ hands. One thing is for sure, Israel’s top echelon will not be able to say they didn't know when the next conflict erupts on Israel's borders.
08/26/08
Margot Dudkevitch
Infolive.tv
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