Iran Turning Lebanon into Base to Attack Jewish State, Israeli Envoy Warns U

Danon charged Hezbollah with “advancing an Iranian agenda to turn southern Lebanon into a launching pad for attacks that threaten the lives of innocent Israelis, while endangering Lebanon and its citizens.”

By: United with Israel Staff

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Danny Danon on Tuesday sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council demanding that they condemn the Hezbollah terrorist tunnels “in the strongest terms possible” and hold the Lebanese government “responsible for the dangerous destabilization of the region.”

The IDF launched Operation Northern Shield early Tuesday morning to expose and destroy terror tunnels dug by the Hezbollah terrorist organization from Lebanon into Israel.

The IDF is operating at several points inside Israeli territory along its northern border with Lebanon, with several areas declared a closed military zone.

Emulating the Hamas terror organization in Gaza, Hezbollah, in recent years has been digging tunnels into Israel so that large groups of terrorists can stream into Israel. The IDF has already exposed one such terror tunnel.

In his letter, Danon charged that Hezbollah is “advancing an Iranian agenda to turn southern Lebanon into a launching pad for attacks that threaten the lives of innocent Israelis, while endangering Lebanon and its citizens.”

In light of the violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Danon wrote that “the Lebanese government must abide by its international commitments and fully implement the abovementioned Security Council resolutions.”

UNSC Resolution 1701 was passed in 2006 at the conclusion of the Second Lebanon War, demanding a full cessation of hostilities, a withdrawal by Hezbollah to the Blue Line, behind the Litani River, and that the government of Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) deploy their forces in the South. Israel has repeatedly charged that Hezbollah breached the resolution on many occasions.

Regional Aggression and Provocation

“The construction of these tunnels, built by Hezbollah and funded by Iran — alongside the ongoing efforts to transfer arms, convert inaccurate projectiles into precision-guided missiles and manufacture precision-guided missiles in Lebanon – are a flagrant violation of Israel’s sovereignty and mark yet another stage of Hezbollah’s ongoing efforts to expand its military build-up and further destabilize the already volatile region,” the ambassador added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Israel’s delegation to the UN to call on the UN Security Council to convene an urgent meeting against Hezbollah and its actions.

US National Security Advisor John Bolton stated that the US “strongly supports Israel’s efforts to defend its sovereignty” and called on Hezbollah to stop its tunneling into Israel and “refrain from escalation and violence.”

“More broadly, we call on Iran and all of its agents to stop their regional aggression and provocation, which pose an unacceptable threat to Israeli and regional security,” he added.

达能指责真主党“推进伊朗议程，将黎巴嫩南部变为威胁无辜以色列人生命的袭击的起点，同时危及黎巴嫩及其公民。”

通过：与以色列工作人员联合

以色列驻联合国大使丹尼·丹恩周二致函联合国秘书长和安理会，要求他们“尽可能以最强烈的措辞”谴责真主党的恐怖主义隧道，并要求黎巴嫩政府“负责危险的地区不稳定。“

以色列国防军星期二早上发起了北盾行动，揭露和摧毁真主党恐怖组织从黎巴嫩挖到以色列的恐怖隧道。

以色列国防军在黎巴嫩北部边界以色列领土内的几个地点开展行动，其中几个地区被宣布为封闭的军事区。

近年来，仿真真主党加沙地带的哈马斯恐怖组织一直在向以色列挖掘隧道，以便大批恐怖分子可以流入以色列。以色列国防军已经暴露了一条这样的恐怖隧道。

在他的信中，Danon指责真主党正在“推进伊朗议程，将黎巴嫩南部变成威胁无辜以色列人生命的袭击的起点，同时危及黎巴嫩及其公民。”

鉴于违反联合国安理会第1701号决议，达能写道：“黎巴嫩政府必须遵守其国际承诺，并充分执行上述安理会决议。”

联合国安理会第1701号决议于2006年在第二次黎巴嫩战争结束时通过，要求全面停止敌对行动，真主党撤离利塔尼河后面的蓝线，以及黎巴嫩政府和联合国驻伊拉克临时部队黎巴嫩（联黎部队）在南部部署部队。以色列一再指控真主党多次违反该决议。

区域侵略与挑衅

“由真主党建造并由伊朗资助的这些隧道的建造 – 以及正在进行的转移武器，将不准确的射弹转换为精确制导导弹并在黎巴嫩制造精确制导导弹的努力 – 公然侵犯了以色列的主权和标志。真主党继续努力扩大其军事集结并进一步破坏已经动荡不安的地区的另一个阶段，“大使补充道。

总理本雅明内塔尼亚胡要求以色列驻联合国代表团呼吁联合国安理会召开紧急会议，反对真主党及其行动。

美国国家安全顾问约翰博尔顿表示，美国“强烈支持以色列捍卫其主权的努力”，并呼吁真主党停止其进入以色列的行动并“避免升级和暴力”。

“更广泛地说，我们呼吁伊朗及其所有特工停止他们的区域侵略和挑衅，这对以色列和地区安全构成了不可接受的威胁，”他补充说。