U.N. Envoy: No Access for U.N. Peacekeepers to Lebanon Tunnels
The United Nations' envoy to the Mideast said Tuesday that peacekeepers in Lebanon have not been given access to tunnels stretching into Israel, which U.N. officials say violate a case-fire resolution that ended a devastating war between Israel and Hizbullah in 2006.
Nikolay Mladenov told the Security Council that the U.N. peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL has confirmed that two tunnels crossed the U.N.-drawn Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel, but "has not been granted access to the confirmed entry points of a tunnel near Kfar Kila on the Lebanese side."
He did not say whether Lebanon's government or the Hizbullah group was blocking access for UNIFIL, but U.S. deputy ambassador Jonathan Cohen blamed the government.
Cohen accused Hizbullah, an Iranian ally, of threatening international peace and security with the extensive tunneling exposed by Israel, which has reported uncovering six tunnels into its territory.
"We commend UNIFIL's work to keep the Blue Line under control, but it is unacceptable that the Lebanese government has not yet given UNIFIL access to the tunnel entrance on their side of the Blue Line," Cohen told the council.
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon complained to the council that "the Lebanese army has taken no action in response, allowing Hizbullah to continue building these tunnels undisturbed."
Danon alleged that Iran funnels $7 billion to militant groups across the region, including $1 billion to Hizbullah, which he said has "grand plans to take over the Israeli Galilee" and invests millions in every tunnel. He provided no information on how Israel calculated its estimate of Iranian spending, which also included $4 billion to the Syrian government, "hundreds of millions" to Iran's proxies in Iraq, tens of millions to Houthi Shiite rebels in Yemen, $70 million to Palestinian Islamic Jihad and $50 million to Hamas, which controls Gaza.
Mladenov noted that Lebanon has been without a government for over eight months and called on all parties to resolve their differences so the country "can address the man pressing challenges it faces, including that of a struggling economy."
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mladenov said that "we should have no illusions about the dangerous dynamics ... which continue to unfold before our eyes" and have eroded "the possibility of establishing a viable, contiguous Palestinian state."
He pointed to Israel's latest new settlement plans and approvals, nearly half to be built deep in the West Bank, which the Palestinians say must be part of their state. He also cited "additional attempts to pass legislation that would directly apply Israeli law to the territory of the occupied West Bank, raising fears of future annexation."
Mladenov said the chance for peace opened more than 25 years ago with the Oslo accords, which were enshrined in U.N. resolutions and bilateral agreements, but has "eroded as the prospect for credible negotiations has dimmed, only to be replaced by the lack of hope and the growing risk of a one-state reality of perpetual occupation."
He urged both sides to recommit to the principles in those agreements — that key issues can be resolved only through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador, told the council that last year "Israel's illegal occupation became more entrenched, more brutal and extreme" with the political process "deadlocked."
"Day by day, the occupation is destroying the two-state solution and sowing deep despair among our people," he said.
But despite "the dismal situation," Mansour said, Palestinians "remain committed to non-violence, dialogue and the objectives of peace" and negotiations on a two-state solution. He urged regional and international efforts "to help overcome the impasse and contribute to the realization of a just solution as a matter of urgency."
Source: Associated Press
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