U.N. found Hezbollah arms pits in Lebanon: Israel

Friday, January 8th, 2010

(Reuters) – U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon recently uncovered hundreds of pounds of explosive devices near the Israeli border, which the Jewish state said on Thursday had been planted by Lebanese Hezbollah militants

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said in a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council that U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon encountered “suspicious individuals” on December 26 and later found pits containing around 660 pounds (300 kilograms) of explosive devices.

Shalev said the devices “were possibly industrially produced in Iran or Syria.” She added that the “types of explosives and the manner in which they were deployed” showed that Hezbollah planted them.

Shalev gave no details about the explosive devices. U.N. officials in New York had no immediate comment.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah, banned all unauthorized weapons between the Litani River and the Blue Line, the U.N.-monitored border between Israel and Lebanon.

Israel has criticized the 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping operation in Lebanon, UNIFIL, for not stopping weapons it says are still flowing to Hezbollah guerrillas. The United Nations says that is the responsibility of the Lebanese authorities.

“The Lebanese government must take serious steps in order to tackle the growing phenomenon of Hezbollah military activity, particularly in civilian villages,” Shalev said.

“Israel expects a full and prompt investigation into the circumstances of this incident,” she said, adding that the Security Council should be informed of the results of the investigation as soon as possible.

U.S. President Barack Obama urged Lebanon last month to crack down on arms smuggling into the country, saying the weapons posed a potential threat to neighboring Israel.

The United States has accused Iran of illicit arms deliveries to Hezbollah guerrillas.

Israel said in November that its navy had seized a ship carrying hundreds of tons of Iranian-supplied weapons to Hezbollah, a political movement and also the dominant military force in Lebanon, stronger even than the Lebanese army. Hezbollah denied any connection to the shipment.

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