Israel preparing diplomatic ground for possible action against Hezbollah

In a letter to the Security Council on Monday, Israel noted that Hezbollah “operates a site intended for the production and conversion of precision missiles."

By HERB KEINON
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a public appearance at a religious procession (photo credit: AZIZ TAHER/REUTERS)
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a public appearance at a religious procession
(photo credit: AZIZ TAHER/REUTERS)
Preparing the diplomatic ground for possible action against Hezbollah's precision missile program in Lebanon, Israel's mission at the UN informed the Security Council on Monday that Hezbollah is operating a facility for the production of these missiles in the Bekaa Valley.
According to a statement issued by Israel's mission at the UN, “The IDF has provided valuable information on Hezbollah's precision missile program in Lebanon, which has helped Israel advance its case in recent letters to the Security Council.”
In a letter to the Security Council on Monday, Israel noted that Hezbollah “operates a site intended for the production and conversion of precision missiles near the town of Nabi Chit in the Bekaa Valley, with Iranian sponsorship, including financial and logistical support.”
"Since 2016, Iran and Hezbollah have focused their efforts on converting existing rockets into precision guided missiles on Lebanese soil. In order to sustain this conversion, Hezbollah established facilities across Lebanon, including in Beirut,” the letter read. “The commander of the Lebanon Corps in the Quds Force, Muhammad Hussein-Zada Hejazi, oversaw the project, under the guidance of Qassem Suleimani, high commander of the Quds Force. The components necessary for manufacturing and converting precision guided missiles are transported from Iran to Syria by three primary routes: by ground, by air, by sea."
In addition to formal letters, ambassador to the UN Danny Danon is lobbying his counterparts to support Israel's “defensive activity” in Lebanon and to call on the government in Beirut to take action against Hezbollah's precision missile project.
“IDF deterrence against Hezbollah is important, but it also requires diplomatic efforts against the international community to recognize the responsibility of the Lebanese government on whose territory a terrorist organization has established itself against Israel,” Danon said. “The Lebanese leadership is not only aware of the precision program, but in some ways even helped to disguise it. Working with UN ambassadors gives us political legitimacy in international forums and also helps us call attention to and combat Iran's subversion in the region."