US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley (AP/Andrew Harnik)
American UN ambassador Nikki Haley blasts Hezbollah for stockpiling arms and demands UN action to stop it.
On Wednesday, American UN Ambassador Nikki Haley slammed Hezbollah for stockpiling weapons in southern Lebanon that threaten the region, and Israel specifically. In a meeting with UN’s special Lebanon envoy Sigrid Kaag, Haley demanded that the UN halt Hezbollah’s destabilizing activities. The meeting took place before Thursday’s scheduled Security Council meeting concerning the UNIFIL peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.
The US mission to the UN released a statement stressing the gravity of the situation in southern Lebanon. The statement explained, “Ambassador Haley expressed alarm over the build-up of weapons by Hezbollah, a situation that demands the international community’s attention to prevent the further escalation of regional tensions.”
Haley, who is supportive of the Jewish state, demanded stronger UN action to defuse Hezbollah’s arms buildup against Israel.
The US ambassador emphasized that the world community must “apply more pressure on Hezbollah to disarm and cease its destabilizing behavior, especially toward Israel.”
Turning her attention specifically to the UN force deployed in Lebanon, Haley said that UNIFIL must be “fully engaged in addressing the threat posed by Hezbollah.”
The Lebanese-based Iranian terrorist proxy that attacked Israel in 2006 has significantly upgraded its military capabilities since then. Israeli military intelligence asserts that Hezbollah has amassed more than 100,000 missiles in flagrant violation of UN resolution 1701. This is reportedly more than the combined missile arsenal of 27 NATO states. Hezbollah is believed to be able to strike anywhere in Israel.
According to Arab media, Iran has facilitated the establishment of at least two missile production plants in Lebanon for the benefit of Hezbollah. In June, Hezbollah’s head, Hassan Nasrallah, threatened that “hundreds of thousands” of Muslim and Arab fighters were ready to fight Israel if the Jewish state targeted Syria or Lebanon.
Recently, Israel harshly criticized the UNIFIL force for willfully ignoring Hezbollah’s massive weapons stockpile in southern Lebanon. Jerusalem also blamed the UN for turning a blind eye to the establishment of secret Hezbollah intelligence observation points on the border with Israel.
By: Daniel Krygier, World Israel News
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