Dismissing claims that Hizbullah has returned to its former strength in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL commander Maj.-Gen. Claudio Graziano told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview on Thursday that the guerrilla group was practically non-existent south of the Litani River and that if the peacekeeping mission continued, the threat of war would be completely removed within three years.
Visiting Tel Aviv for meetings with IDF officers, Graziano, an Italian general appointed commander of UNIFIL in February, told The Post that his men believed in their mission of preventing hostilities in southern Lebanon and were willing to sacrifice their lives on Israel's behalf.
"Our job is to defend peace and it is a value-based job for soldiers," he explained. "There are people who will offer their lives for higher values like peace, security and stability."
Graziano's claim that Hizbullah had not rearmed itself or rebuilt its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon came a week after Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz told The Post that the guerrilla group was back at its former strength particularly inside southern Lebanese urban areas as well as forest preserves.
He also rejected news reports that Hizbullah had built up a new bunker system nearby UNIFIL positions. Graziano said that UNIFIL - made up of over 13,000 soldiers - conducts over 400 patrols daily and mans close to 200 observation posts throughout the area of operations which is 1,100 square kilometers from the Litani River in the north to the Blue Line border in the south. |