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Moscow: Little Chance UNIFIL Will Disarm Hizballah

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, passed earlier in the summer, ended the open hostilities in the war between Israel and the Lebanese terror group Hizballah. 1701 required that southern Lebanon, formerly a base of operations for Hizballah (even considered a ?state within a state?) be ?free of any armed personnel and weapons other than those of the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon).? But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ivanov has cast doubt on what if any disarmament action UNIFIL might engage in.

The head of UNIFIL in Lebanon, a Frenchman, has denounced Israeli over-flights of Lebanese territory he says violate 1701, but Israel says so long as UNIFIL is not acting to prevent arms smuggling (a.k.a. supplies) to Hizballah as is required under 1701, Israel is fully justified in the flights. The French commander of UNIFIL has stated that his troops may one day fire upon Israeli airplanes, even though UN bylaws clearly state that the UN forces cannot fire unless fired upon by the forces of either side.

Focusing back on FM Ivanov, who said last Friday that ?UN peacekeepers deployed in Lebanon are unlikely to be able to disarm the Hizbullah, as entailed by UN Security Council Resolution 1701,? noted that the provisions of 1701 which made Moscow uncomfortable justified the sending Russian forces to Lebanon in a separate agreement with the Lebanese government. Russian peacekeepers recently dedicated a bridge rebuilt with their help following the cease-fire which came into place in August. Russians are set to help rebuild five bridges over the next several weeks.