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Last update - 04:05 05/11/2009
UN report finds no evidence of arms smuggling to Lebanon
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel news, Syria, Iran 

Two days before Israel's capture of a ship that was apparently ferrying arms to Hezbollah, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released a report to the UN Security Council in which he said the United Nations took the Israeli allegations about weapons smuggling to Hezbollah seriously, but lacked the ability to independently verify the information.

A key clause in UN Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War, prohibits the delivery of weapons to any entity in Lebanon but the Lebanese government. The clause was meant to keep Hezbollah from rearming itself with long-range rockets. However, Israel says Hezbollah has doubled its rocket arsenal since the war, with the help of shipments from Iran and Syria.

In the report, Ban wrote that the Lebanese government had not informed the UN of a single incident of weapons smuggling to its territory, whether by land, sea or air. In contrast, his special envoy to the region, Michael Williams, had heard Israel allege that vast quantities of weapons were being smuggled to Lebanon over the Syrian border.
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Ban urged Syria, Iran and other countries in contact with Hezbollah to uphold the arms embargo imposed after the Second Lebanon War.

This embargo is an essential factor in maintaining domestic and regional stability, the secretary general said, and therefore, it is essential that all UN member states comply with their obligations by immediately and unconditionally respecting the embargo.

"Any breach of it is a violation of Lebanese sovereignty and threatens the stability of the country and the region," Ban added.

The report also discussed the explosion in the village of Khirbat Salim in July, and confirmed Israel's claim that the site was a Hezbollah munitions dump.

The dump was in active operation, in violation of Resolution 1701, Ban wrote. He added that Hezbollah initially prevented UNIFIL soldiers from inspecting the site, and a subsequent UNIFIL investigation found that Hezbollah had destroyed evidence of weapons in the dump.

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      1.   The UN at its Finest 03:14  |  Ron 05/11/09
      2.   Once a liar, always... 04:14  |  stirfry 05/11/09
      3.   Well, ya got that part half-right.... 04:19  |  Johnboy 05/11/09
      4.   No Feedback on this article 04:23  |  Tuvea 05/11/09
      5.   No better way to illustrate the uslessness of the UN 04:37  |  A Nice Fellow 05/11/09
      6.   no evidence 05:03  |  Shmuelshachor 05/11/09
      7.   How absurd: The UN reports no delivery of weapons yet weapons are 05:07  |  Eitan 05/11/09
      8.   1701` arms 05:09  |  colin 05/11/09
      9.   Another (in) credible UN fart 05:22  |  Dan 05/11/09
      10.   The Lebanese army said Hezbo doent smuggle weapons? UNBELIVEABLE! 05:30  |  Dan 05/11/09
      11.   UN ask Hezbo if they smuggled weapon and writes: their answer 05:31  |  What are they smokin 05/11/09
      12.   See no evil, hear no evil 06:04  |  Rory 05/11/09
      13.   Johnboy, wrong as usual. This time about 1701 06:04  |  SDHD 05/11/09
      14.   The UN lacks evidence... 06:08  |  SDHD 05/11/09
      15.   Naive 06:19  |  syrian opinion 05/11/09
      16.   Now, we shall hear, those correspondents who cheered 06:33  |  Mark Lincoln 05/11/09
      17.   You forget one part johnboy... 07:03  |  David G 05/11/09
      18.   Well Johnboy no Ceasefire then 07:11  |  Peter Williams 05/11/09
      19.   UN is such a joke 07:17  |  Sue 05/11/09
      20.   UN, a useless, corrupt institution 07:23  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 05/11/09
      21.   their stupid nu,nu,nu 07:33  |  drdanielito 05/11/09
      22.   No evidence of arms smuggling? 07:37  |  John Brown 05/11/09
      23.   UN - see no evil hear no evil speak no evil. 08:01  |  Israeli 05/11/09
      24.   Peter Williams, Hezbollah is part of the government... 09:24  |  BBSNews 05/11/09
      25.   hahaha good luck next time !! 09:58  |  T.I.P. 05/11/09
      26.   NO Surprise UN lying for Arabs or not looking because they are 10:11  |  PETER SM 05/11/09
      27.   TIP Are Sheba yours?? Where does UN say that? 10:15  |  PETER SM 05/11/09
      28.   How Blind Can One Get 10:20  |  Gil 05/11/09
      29.   Heck of a Job, Brownie 10:24  |  Mark of Lewiston 05/11/09
      30.   #1 If you would taken the "Francop", an Antigua-flagged freighter 10:38  |  Viewer 05/11/09
      31.   #14 Another apodictic statement of Cipora 10:52  |  Ardi 05/11/09
      32.   Bwahahaha 11:38  |  Ki`emli 05/11/09
      33.   Where then.... 11:48  |  Maor 05/11/09
      34.   The UN also couldn`t find any alcohol in a brewery 11:53  |  George 05/11/09
      35.   Well if there is no evidence of arms smuggling thats OK then 12:37  |  Chris Linthwaite 05/11/09
      36.   #12 SDHD 12:42  |  Chris Linthwaite 05/11/09
      37.   another Levon affair 12:46  |  mike honcho 05/11/09
      38.   if Israel keeps violating resolution 1701... 13:09  |  Wouter 05/11/09
      39.   #12 SDHD UN Resolution 1701 calls for 13:09  |  Chris Linthwaite 05/11/09
      40.   asking he crook`s friend whether the crook is a crook - 13:30  |  ivo 05/11/09
      41.   UN = political so its reports are 13:31  |  rafiq 05/11/09
      42.   Hear No Evil See No Evil..... 13:56  |  Tim 05/11/09
      43.   No, I guess they wouldn`t... 14:14  |  Walter 05/11/09
      44.   I don`t get the hoopla 14:14  |  Skandarooni 05/11/09
      45.   Expecting results the UN simply can`t provide 14:29  |  allang 05/11/09
      46.   There You Have It - UN is Dead 14:30  |  Jane 05/11/09
      47.   Stirfry, get out of the kitchen 14:36  |  sz 05/11/09
      48.   #46 Jane you are right, UN and Israel did 14:52  |  Ardi 05/11/09
      49.   Anaim lahem v`loh yiru. Perhaps the iceberg is too big to see?... 15:22  |  bat yam 05/11/09
      50.   Of course Johnboy, you seem to forget the 1990 accords 16:12  |  Jacob Blues 05/11/09
      51.   The blind leading the blind 16:40  |  David 05/11/09
      52.   Israelis ridiculing the UN? 17:00  |  Juge 05/11/09
      53.   Juge #52: you don`t see the difference - 18:10  |  ivo 05/11/09
      54.   Lebanon is a joke! 18:42  |  Mark 05/11/09
      55.   Three monkeys 18:52  |  Gee 05/11/09
      56.   UN ? 19:32  |  Joseph 05/11/09
      57.   Ardi 19:47  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 05/11/09
      58.   What this reminds me of 19:48  |  JW 05/11/09
      59.   Israeli overflights of Lebanon 20:01  |  binny 05/11/09
      60.   UN report finds no evidence of anyone with a working brain at UN 23:28  |  Dan 05/11/09
      61.   UN report finds no evidence you need to exhale after you inhale 23:30  |  Dan 05/11/09
      62.   Kudos to Dan # 9 & 10. EXCELLENT POSTS !!! 23:44  |  Fortuna Benmayor 05/11/09
      63.   Stick to feeding kids and refugees 04:59  |  Steve 29/11/09
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