S/PV.6375 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them document S/2010/454, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and the United States of America. I wish to draw the attention of participants to documents S/2010/352 and S/2010/430, containing the thirteenth report of the Secretary-General on Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) and a letter dated 11 August 2010 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council, respectively. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. Unless I hear any objection, I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now. There being no objection, it is so decided. A vote was taken by show of hands. In favour: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, France, Gabon, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America.

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 1937 (2010). I now give the floor to the representative of Lebanon, who wishes to make a statement following the voting.

Allow me, first, to extend the thanks of the Government of Lebanon to all members of the Security Council for the unanimous decision to renew for another year the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), without amendment to its mission, its rules of engagement or its concept of operations, as per the request of my Government. I would also like to take this opportunity to praise UNIFIL’s dedicated work, in close coordination and cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces; to commend the leadership of its Commander, Major General Asarta Cuevas; and to express our deep gratitude to all troop-contributing countries for their continued support to Lebanon and its efforts to consolidate security and stability in its south. Lebanon appreciates the troops’ valiant sacrifices, the most recent of which being the regrettable death of a French UNIFIL member in a car accident last week. Allow me also to acknowledge the guidance provided by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. I know that this is well known to all members of the Security Council, however allow me to conclude by reiterating Lebanon’s strong commitment to the full implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) in its entirety.

I now give the floor to the representative of Israel.

As we are meeting at the end of the month, please allow me, Mr. President, to commend you for your able stewardship of the Security Council this month. Israel welcomes the adoption of resolution 1937 (2010) and the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). I would like to convey Israel’s appreciation to UNIFIL troops and their commanders, troop-contributing countries and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). Israel remains committed to the full implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) and looks forward to cooperating with the Security Council, the Secretary-General, DPKO and UNIFIL in that regard. However, in Lebanon, serious challenges to peace and security threaten the full realization of resolution 1701 (2006). In fact, some of those challenges are highlighted in the resolution that the Council has just adopted. The most serious of these remains the military build-up of the Hizbullah terrorist organization. With Iranian and Syrian support through arms, training and financing — all of which are flagrant violations of resolution 1701 (2006) and of today’s resolution — Hizbullah is building a deadly arsenal throughout Lebanon, including south of the Litani River and in the area of UNIFIL’s operation. The incidents in Khirbat Silim, Tayr Filsi and Mazraat Sarda represent just the tip of the iceberg of this larger phenomenon. This military build-up is made possible by widespread weapons transfers to Lebanon, which violate the existing arms embargo. The arms embargo is a key issue addressed in resolution 1701 (2006). The reference to the embargo in today’s resolution is certainly important and should be accompanied by concrete measures on the ground. Hizbullah’s deadly rearmament endangers Lebanon itself and the wider Middle East as Hizbullah deploys those weapons and builds its military infrastructure throughout civilian villages of southern Lebanon, adjacent to schools, hospitals, houses of worship and residential buildings. Hence, more concerted efforts must be made in order to establish, in the words of paragraph 8 of today’s resolution, “between the Blue Line and the Litani River ... an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and UNIFIL”. The freedom of movement of UNIFIL is increasingly impeded by Hizbullah operatives who use civilians to disrupt the work of peacekeepers. In that regard, UNIFIL must remain vigilant and use the necessary and appropriate means to carry out the mandate that the Council has renewed today. While Israel welcomes the deployment of the Lebanese Army in southern Lebanon, its forces must act responsibly to ensure peace and stability. The Lebanese Armed Forces must clearly differentiate itself from radical elements that seek to undermine resolution 1701 (2006). In that regard, on 3 August we witnessed a grave incident. During routine Israeli work south of the Blue Line — more than 90 metres within Israeli territory — Lebanese forces fired direct fire across the Blue Line, killing Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Dov Harari and critically wounding another senior company commander, both of whom were standing some 140 metres south of the Blue Line and 250 metres west of the location of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) works. The preliminary findings concerning this incident were discussed in the Secretary-General’s letter to the Security Council regarding the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate (S/2010/430). UNIFIL’s investigation was shared with the parties last week, and the main finding of the report states that “the LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces] opening fire, which triggered the exchange, constitutes a serious violation of resolution 1701 (2006) and a flagrant breach of the cessation of hostilities. At the time of the initial LAF fire, the IDF troops were positioned on the Israeli side, south of the Blue Line”. The parties plan to discuss the results of this investigation in their next tripartite meeting. However, Israel hopes that the Council will receive a full briefing on the matter in a timely manner. This type of incident must not happen again. Israel reiterates its call upon the LAF to respect the Blue Line in its entirety. While the situation in southern Lebanon remains complex, the presence of UNIFIL plays an indispensable role in promoting calm in the area, including along Israel’s northern border. In conclusion, I wish to reiterate our support for today’s resolution, and to emphasize our gratitude to the men and women of UNIFIL, who are performing a difficult task in a difficult environment in order to promote peace and security for all in the region.

The representative of Lebanon has asked for the floor to make a further statement, and I call on him now.

As we renew the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) today, it is important not to forget that the current enhanced mission of UNIFIL came on the heels of the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006, which killed 1,125 Lebanese civilians and displaced hundreds of thousands, not to mention those civilians who have since been mutilated by the cluster bombs that Israel dropped in the last 48 hours of its aggression. In fact, the criminal fallout of Israel’s 2006 aggression continues to unfold. During the past four months, “seven incidents involving unexploded ordnance from the 2006 conflict occurred, resulting in injury to six civilians and one deminer”, as stated in paragraph 43 of the Secretary-General’s most recent report (S/2010/352) on the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006). Israel claims to be committed to the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). Yet, as stated by the Secretary-General in paragraph 56 of his July report, Israeli warplanes “continue to violate resolution 1701 (2006) and Lebanese sovereignty on an almost daily basis through overflights of Lebanese territory. These overflights create a tense situation and have the potential to trigger an incident that could rapidly escalate”. Furthermore, Israel continues to blatantly and repeatedly violate Lebanese sovereignty on land and at sea, where it unilaterally established a line of buoys infringing on Lebanese territorial waters, in addition to its “navy units dropping depth charges and firing flares along the buoy line”, as stated in paragraph 26 of the Secretary-General’s latest report. Is this how Israel intends to be fully committed to the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006)? Four years after the Security Council adopted that resolution, calling on Israel to withdraw its troops from all Lebanese territory, the Israeli armed forces, as noted in paragraph 8 of the Secretary-General’s report, continue their “occupation of the northern part of Ghajar village and an adjacent area of land north of the Blue Line, in violation of resolution 1701 (2006)”. Is it by continuing to defy the Secretary-General’s clear request to withdraw from northern Ghajar that Israel respects resolution 1701 (2006)? Moreover, Israel continues to occupy the Shab’a farms in the Kafr Shuba hills, refusing a solution even on an interim basis, as previously proposed by the Lebanese Government. And it is impossible not to mention the more than 150 Israeli spies arrested in Lebanon during the past year, let alone those who fled to Israel before the Lebanese security forces were able to apprehend them. Do they not constitute a violation of Lebanese sovereignty, safety and security, respect for which is enshrined in resolution 1701 (2006)? And what about the barrage of bellicose threats levelled against my country and its people by Israeli officials, promising them more death and destruction. For Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, it has become “legitimate to hit any target that belongs to the Lebanese State”, as he stated in his 26 July interview with The Washington Post. Allow me also to remind the Council that on 7 August 2009 that same Israeli Minister declared, ahead of the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate last year, that “Israel did not strike at Lebanon’s infrastructure hard enough” during the summer war of 2006. Is this how Israel promises to respect resolution 1701 (2006)? As for the events at the beginning of July, Lebanon has deplored them and it reiterates its respect for UNIFIL’s freedom of movement, as defined by its mandate and rules of engagement. Lebanon also considers the border incident of 3 August, which took place in a contested area along the Blue Line, as a grave one from which lessons should indeed be drawn. As asserted by the report shared by UNIFIL with the parties, the incident underscored the importance of marking the Blue Line and respecting it. That is what Lebanon has always been calling for. Furthermore, the report calls on the parties to refrain from any provocation. Lebanon fully endorses that cardinal recommendation. Is there, however, any greater provocation than the more than 6,000 daily, deliberate and brazen Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty perpetrated since 2006, which have been documented and reported in numerous letters addressed to the Council by my Mission, as well as in the Secretary-General’s reports? Moreover, that incident underlines how imperative it is to strengthen coordination with UNIFIL, in order to prevent similar events from occurring in the future. In this regard, Lebanon and its armed forces look forward to enhancing their coordination and cooperation with UNIFIL during its renewed mandate. Allow me once more to thank you, Mr. President, and all members of the Council for renewing UNIFIL’s mandate for another year.

There are no further speakers inscribed on my list. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.