03 July 2009

BEIRUT: Hizbullah on Thursday criticized UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon over what the group called "extreme bias" toward Israel in his latest report on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701. "UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's recent report ... is extremely biased toward Israel and reinforces the unjust stances of [key Israeli ally] the US," a statement from the group said.

The statement made reference to US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, who on Wednesday told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas that Hizbullah's arms continued to pose a threat to Lebanon and the Middle East as a whole.

In his tenth report on the implementation of Resolution 1701, which ended Israel's 34-day war on Lebanon in July-August 2006, Ban on Tuesday said he was "concerned at the Lebanese government allegations" that several Israeli spy cells had been recently discovered, saying Tel Aviv's covert operations could pose a threat to the delicate peace between the enemy neighbors.

At least 30 people in Lebanon have been detained on suspicion of collaborating with Israel since a high-profile campaign was launched earlier this year. At least 15 people, including two Lebanese security officials, have been formally charged.

But instead of condemning Israel's blatant aggression, Ban's report was "weak, timid and confusing," Hizbullah said.

"It would have been appropriate for [Ban] to condemn the Israeli acts and hold the Zionist entity [Tel Aviv] fully responsible for these crimes and their consequences," added the statement. "The evidence submitted by Lebanon to the UN was sufficient to issue a strongly worded condemnation of Israel."

Ban's remarks did little to reflect the dangers that Israel's spy cells posed to Lebanon's national security and stability, even though investigations proved the Israeli collaborators had supplied Tel Aviv with detailed information about Lebanese officials and security establishments, as well as Hizbullah, the statement said.

"Through its spy networks in Lebanon, Israel is not only responsible for crimes and attacks committed during the July 2006 war ... it is also the prime suspect in many crimes against Lebanon's internal security," it said. The UN's credibility diminished with each report it issued regarding Israel, Hizbullah added.

The Shiite group reiterated its determination to continue its armed resistance. "The injustice of the US and the bias of the UN will not stop us from confronting dangers that threaten Lebanon," the statement concluded.

Hizbullah's remarks come one day after Lebanon's Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a similar statement complaining Ban's report had not sufficiently addressed the "dangers" of the Israeli spy cells.

Ban said the discovery of the covert networks could pose a threat to the fragile peace between the enemy neighbors but refrained from condemning them "as being a threat to Lebanese sovereignty nor as a violation of the resolution," a statement from the ministry said on Wednesday.

Ban's 17-page report urged the next Lebanese cabinet to renew its commitment to implementing Security Council Resolution 1701. As in earlier reports, the UN chief reiterated his call for Lebanon and Israel to abide by the resolution's obligations and cited a number of violations by both countries.

Ban also called for the disarmament of Hizbullah, suggesting weapons smuggling in south Lebanon may have occurred. "To date, UNIFIL has neither been provided with, nor found, evidence of new military infrastructure or the smuggling of arms into [UNIFIL's] area of operations" in South Lebanon, the UN report said. "Bearing in mind that it is impossible to prove a negative, the unauthorized presence and smuggling of weapons into the area cannot ever be entirely excluded."

Lebanon's Foreign Ministry criticized the report as "unclear."

 

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