BEIRUT: Opposition politicians rushed on Wednesday to condemn the UN Secretary General’s report on Resolution 1701, calling it “unbalanced” and free of any “practical steps” that could end Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty. Ban Ki-moon’s 11th report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 warned that the continuing presence of weapons outside of state control was “a challenge to the ability of the state to exercise its full sovereignty and control over its territory.” 

The UN chief reiterated Resolution 1701’s requirement of the “the disarmament of groups,” including Hizbullah. 

“This should take place through a Lebanese-led process that will bring the full restoration of the authority of the government of Lebanon over all its territory,” said Ban, adding the delay in cabinet formation hadn’t helped that process. 

“I regret that the prolonged political deadlock … has not been conducive to addressing this issue [of non-state arms].” 

Marjayoun-Hasbaya MP Ali Fayyad, from Hizbullah’s bloc, condemned the report as too lenient on Israeli violations. 

In a television appearance, Fayyad said Ban’s report was “unbalanced and doesn’t highlight sufficiently the Israeli aggressions since it doesn’t hold Israel responsible for violating [UN Resolution 1701].” 

He added that the report provided no “practical steps” that would indicate UN peacekeeping troops intended to halt constant Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty. 

Nabatieh MP Yassin Jaber said Ban’s stance had “shocked most of Lebanon since it called for disarming the resistance,” adding: “There’s no solution to the weapons of the resistance outside of dialogue and political consensus, following the disappearance of Israeli threats.”

“The resistance is a response to Israeli occupation of Leba-nese territory, especially when the Israeli state insists on threatening new military action against Lebanon,” Jaber added. 

The report concluded that UNIFIL’s jurisdiction south of the Litani River remained “generally stable … and the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon continued to hold.” 

Ban said both Israel and Leba-non were committed to the full implementation of Resolution 1701 and urged both to move toward a permanent ceasefire. 

Resolution 1701 – drafted to end the 2006 summer war between Lebanon and Israel – provides that Lebanese sovereignty be respected along with its borders and outlaws the presence of weapons in Lebanon outside of the state’s control. 

Ban said that the exchanges of rocket fire of September 11 and October 27 proved the continuing presence of “weapons and hostile armed elements ready to use them within the area of operations.” 

“[The attacks] provide a stark reminder of the challenges that armed groups operating outside the control of the state pose to Lebanon’s sovereignty and authority,” Ban added. 

In remarks published in As-Safir on Wednesday, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said he was concerned about recent southern security breaches. 

“There is absolutely no evidence, for example, Hizbullah was involved in any way in the rocket attacks against Israel,” he said. “But some of these groups clearly exist in Palestinian camps and I think that poses a danger for [Resolution] 1701 and a danger for Lebanon.” He also pledged to raise the issue of Israeli spy devices with the Security Council “because this is one of the things that has contributed to the rise in tension.” 

Ban said Israel’s “artillery response to the rocket attacks is a matter of concern” and urged it to promptly cease near-daily overflights in Lebanese airspace. 

Addressing Israeli claims that arms are flowing into Lebanon across its porous border with Syria, Ban said he took the allegations seriously but the UN was “not in a position to verify the information independently.” 

He added that respecting the resolution’s arms embargo “remains an essential factor in maintaining domestic and regional stability.”

Ban also confirmed that the blast of an ammunition store near the village of Khirbet Silim on July 14 took place in a building that was “under the control of Hizbullah.” 

A joint LAF-UNIFIL investigation into the blasts revealed that “persons acknowledged to be affiliated with Hizbullah removed a substantial quantity of remnants from the site”. 

Although Ban labeled the incident a “clear violation of Resolution 1701” – which expressly forbids the storing of weapons south of the Litani River – he added there was no evidence to suggest the weapons had been smuggled into place after 2006. 

The March 14 coalition Secretariat General’s response to the report focused on the need for a cessation in breaches of Lebanese sovereignty before calm could prevail along the Blue Line. 

Its statement called for all parties to strive toward full implementation of Resolution 1701 “particularly with regard to Lebanon’s defense strategy, that should restrict [the existence of] arms outside the framework of the Lebanese state.” 

Ban spoke of his admiration for the LAF and its professionalism in assisting UNIFIL in south Lebanon. 

“The Lebanese Armed Forces continued to act with commitment and resolve, especially during times of heightened tension,” he said, but added that troop safety needed guaranteeing. 

“I remain concerned about reports of threats to the United Nations posed by militant extremist groups present in Lebanon.” 

Williams expressed his hope that both Lebanon and Israel would continue to work towards calm, but conceded much work was still required before peace could be lasting. “Progress has been very slow and I hope in 2010 that this is something we can try and move forward on. Some elements have been achieved … but we need to work towards a positive ceasefire so that there will be a stop to the constant Israeli violations.”