For the first time ever, the United Nations on Thursday accused Hezbollah of violating the UN-brokered cease-fire that ended the 2006 Second Lebanon war, fought between Israel and the Shi'ite militant organization. | It's sad, but the hoary joke applies: expect a strongly-worded declaration ... |
Le Roy also touched upon claims that Hezbollah is disrupting the activities of UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon. He said there was evidence that Hezbollah organized the group of villagers that prevented UNIFIL soldiers from searching an abandoned building near the structure that blew up last week.
The official made the comments during an emergency closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council. The United States called the session to discuss the situation in south Lebanon following a number of security incidents in the area. The session was the first time when the UN explicitly accused Hezbollah of breaching the resolution; all 15 Security Council members, apart from Libya, agreed that Hezbollah was responsible for the violation.
A senior Hezbollah official said Wednesday, the explosion along the border with Israel was set off by old shells, not a secret arms cache.
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon called the ammunition that had exploded a serious violation of the ceasefire. Resolution 1701, which was accepted by both Israel and Hezbollah, called for the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon.
The Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN said Thursday the closed-door meeting was called after Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev sent two letters of complaint to the Secretary-General and Security Council.
On Tuesday, the Lebanese Army said it had uncovered a militant Islamist network that had been plotting to carry out attacks against UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon and the army itself.