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Last update - 08:16 28/04/2008
Israel: UNIFIL hiding info about Hezbollah from Security Council
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Hezbollah, Israel, UNIFIL 

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is intentionally concealing information about Hezbollah activities south of the Litani River in Lebanon to avoid conflict with the group, senior sources in Jerusalem have said. In the last six months there have been at least four cases in which UNIFIL soldiers identified armed Hezbollah operatives, but did nothing and did not submit full reports on the incidents to the UN Security Council.

The Israel Defense Forces and the Foreign Ministry are reportedly very angry about UNIFIL's actions in recent months, especially about the fact that its commander, Major General Claudio Graziano, is said to be leniently interpreting his mission, as assigned by Security Council Resolution 1701, passed at the end of the Second Lebanon War.

Senior IDF officials said recently behind closed doors that Graziano is "presenting half-truths so as to avoid embarrassment and conflict with Hezbollah," and that Resolution 1701 has been increasingly eroded in recent months.
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A senior government source in Jerusalem said that, "There is an attempt by various factors in the UN to mislead the Security Council and whitewash everything having to do with the strengthening of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon." The source also said, "The policy of cover-ups and whitewashing will not last long and, hopefully, now that the concealing of information has been revealed, things will change."

Israeli anger reached boiling point over a week ago after the release of a new report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with regard to another Lebanon-related Security Council resolution, 1559. The report briefly mentioned an incident at the beginning of March in which UNIFIL soldiers encountered unidentified armed men, and included no additional details. Officials in Israel, familiar with the incident, reportedly were aware that the Security Council had not been apprised of numerous details of the incident.

A day after the release of the report, Haaretz revealed that the incident described in the report had actually been a clash between UNIFIL and armed Hezbollah activists. The latter, driving a truck full of explosives, threatened the Italian UNIFIL battalion with weapons. Instead of using force as required by their mandate, the UN soldiers abandoned the site. A diplomatic source at the UN told Haaretz that senior officials in UNIFIL and in the UN Secretariat brought heavy pressure to bear to have the incident erased from the report or at least to blur it.

When the incident was made public, UNIFIL was forced to admit that it had indeed occurred and to request Lebanon's assistance in investigating it. UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane said that during the incident, which took place near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, five armed men had threatened UNIFIL troops. Bouziane said the identity of the armed men was uncertain.

A day later, a second report was transmitted to the Security Council on the matter, this time including all the details. However, the report stated that this was the first incident of its kind. According to a security source in Israel, this was a misrepresentation; he said that in fact there had been many similar incidents in the past. A response from UNIFIL with regard to Israel's claims was unobtainable.

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      1.   Who is Israel complaining to? Mommy 01:22  |  whiner A. 28/04/08
      2.   War makes Israel bigger 01:23  |  Wendy 28/04/08
      3.   Israel has no Authority to demand or boss around the UNIFIL!!!!!! 01:24  |  MOE 28/04/08
      4.   TO ALL HAARETZ BASHERS READING THIS!!!!!!!!!! 01:25  |  MOE 28/04/08
      5.   We the PA police have been makking good law and order here in ... 01:28  |  PA POLICE OFFICER 28/04/08
      6.   From an Israeli, thanks 01:45  |  momo 28/04/08
      7.   oh, so now israel cares about the u.n 01:46  |  Alan 28/04/08
      8.   Why should UN soldiers get killed for Israel? 01:49  |  Dan 28/04/08
      9.   Israel`s main problem 01:51  |  Chris Linthwaite 28/04/08
      10.   Hezbillah represents Iranian interest, not Lebanon 01:53  |  Bill 28/04/08
      11.   Israel has every right to demand UNIFIL respect its mandate 01:53  |  Joe Frazier 28/04/08
      12.   Flaming Moe - Israel would shoot the enemy aircraft down 01:56  |  Joe Frazier 28/04/08
      13.   What`s your problem "MOE" # 3, 4 ? 02:00  |  Fortuna Benmayor 28/04/08
      14.   Unifil vs. Hezbollah 02:04  |  gabriel 28/04/08
      15.   #4 why don`t you stick to official PA press organs? 02:05  |  McQueen 28/04/08
      16.   #3 MOE U shmo 02:09  |  * BEN JABO 28/04/08
      17.   #4 MOE u SHMO 02:11  |  8 BEN JABO 28/04/08
      18.   #2 Wendy - If that were the case as you present it 02:13  |  f* BEN JABO 28/04/08
      19.   #1,2, MOe and Alan...are you all the same person? 02:32  |  DR 28/04/08
      20.   to ben jabo 13 02:46  |  Mikey 28/04/08
      21.   # 3 MOE....Libya tried it 02:48  |  Lynn 28/04/08
      22.   Israel - This Is What You Get 02:51  |  Tod Zuckerman 28/04/08
      23.   LINTHWAITE #9: A GOOD POINT 03:13  |  Brant 28/04/08
      24.   #17/18. Ben Jabo. Are you coding your posts? 03:53  |  Maureen Ann 28/04/08
      25.   Moe 3 04:14  |  Sabra 28/04/08
      26.   Where does it say in 1701.... 04:19  |  Johnboy 28/04/08
      27.   israel has some nerve,it attacked a UN post in Lebanon during the 04:23  |  lakshmi 28/04/08
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      29.   Re Alan 04:32  |  Shlomo 28/04/08
      30.   DID YOU EXPECT MORE 04:35  |  TOBIA 28/04/08
      31.   HEY MOE FROM PALASTINE 04:39  |  TOBIA 28/04/08
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      33.   #21 Tobia well the highest ranking offical in Palestine i know is 05:24  |  MOE 28/04/08
      34.   #3 are you stupid or do you not read, unifil has responsibilities 05:36  |  ralph 28/04/08
      35.   #20 lakshmi - how funny 05:53  |  Jon 28/04/08
      36.   #25 Arik- you are wrong 05:55  |  Jon 28/04/08
      37.   The UN`s disregard of its mandates will lead us.... 06:10  |  R 28/04/08
      38.   Let`s get real 06:21  |  utagawa 28/04/08
      39.   Gosh, the whole worlds against Israel. 06:23  |  Natallie Durson 28/04/08
      40.   #2 How many wars were started by Israel? 06:33  |  Gili 28/04/08
      41.   #20 Lakshmi - UNIFIL had some nerve 06:46  |  * BEN JABO 28/04/08
      42.   Gen.Graziano,Unifil.Lebanon 07:42  |  james hazan 28/04/08
      43.   #19 - Well, you`re quite right Johnboy 07:59  |  JES 28/04/08
      44.   Chris#9 - Israel`s solution 08:00  |  William 28/04/08
      45.   The guy playing Police Man#5 08:09  |  William 28/04/08
      46.   Why are only anti-Israel UNRs demanded to be upheld? 08:12  |  William 28/04/08
      47.   More Importantly 08:34  |  Mark of Lewiston 28/04/08
      48.   11 Joe Frazier - Why, Israel Doesn`t. 08:40  |  Mark of Lewiston 28/04/08
      49.   #10-Bill your wrong 08:42  |  Sami 28/04/08
      50.   Can the UNO be trusted ? 08:44  |  Jean Van Daem 28/04/08
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      52.   The Israelis are such pitiful whiners and bleaters 09:35  |  Clickfool 28/04/08
      53.   #33 Is that so, JES? 10:31  |  Johnboy 28/04/08
      54.   Alan 10:31  |  George 28/04/08
      55.   UN soldiers 10:32  |  george 28/04/08
      56.   Hezbollah killed UNIFIL soldiers 10:33  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 28/04/08
      57.   # 9 -Israel`s main problem 10:34  |  Gimpel the Fool 28/04/08
      58.   CFOOL.thinks Hesb weapons appear by immaculate conception? 10:40  |  PETER SM 28/04/08
      59.   Mark of Lewiston 10:40  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 28/04/08
      60.   if the un is a waste of space which it is why send troops 10:41  |  v ictor hardman3 28/04/08
      61.   #33 A masterly statement of the obvious, JES 10:44  |  Johnboy 28/04/08
      62.   UNIFIL and IDF = Birds of a feather flock together..... 11:02  |  Swiss (Dino) 28/04/08
      63.   #37-38 Mark of Lewiston 11:05  |  Yonatan 28/04/08
      64.   #7 Alan seems to be missing the point 11:18  |  dovvod 28/04/08
      65.   Johnboy - Wrong again!!!! 11:21  |  dovvod 28/04/08
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      67.   #19 waste of time 11:51  |  Rab Burns 28/04/08
      68.   Gosh, Durson ignores Hezbollah occupation of south Lebanon 11:52  |  Joe Sittizen 28/04/08
      69.   LINTHWAITE.No,its their problem when Hesaballas` war starts 11:57  |  PETER SM 28/04/08
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