Netanyahu, Ashkenazi hint Hezbollah behind Beirut blast
UNIFIL is a ‘half-empty vessel,’ Foreign Minister Ashkenazi warns ahead of UNSC discussion of renewing its mandate.
By LAHAV HARKOVForeign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Right)(photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)
The massive explosion in Beirut shows Hezbollah uses of Lebanese civilians and cities to cover for their terrorist actions, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told 12 ambassadors of UN Security Council member states at Israel’s northern border on Tuesday.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ashkenazi tied the massive explosion in Beirut to Hezbollah’s weapon stores in civilian areas of Lebanon.Netanyahu spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, saying: “In order to avoid disasters like the one at the Beirut Port, we have to confiscate the explosives and missiles that Hezbollah has hidden in civilian population centers in Lebanon.”It would be a “big mistake” for Hezbollah to try to distract from the situation in Lebanon by attacking Israel, the prime minister added.Netanyahu also praised Macron’s leadership on the international response to the Beirut blast, repeating Israel’s offer to provide humanitarian aid.Ashkenazi made thinly-veiled hints that the Iranian-backed terror group was responsible for the blast and that the 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the Beirut Port may have belonged to the terrorist organization. Israel has long held that Hezbollah controlled the port.“Israel cannot remain apathetic to Hezbollah’s attempts to harm Israeli sovereignty and citizens,” Ashkenazi warned 12 ambassadors of UN Security Council member states at Israel’s northern border on Tuesday.“Hezbollah is acting in urban and populated territories and using Lebanese citizens as human shields as we saw in the unfortunate event last week, in which hundreds of innocent Lebanese civilians were injured,” he said.Lebanon’s political instability allowed Hezbollah to take over “practically the whole country,” he added.“Iran has taken Lebanon hostage through Hezbollah,” he said.
Ashkenazi also repeated the offer of humanitarian aid, saying Israel is still prepared to send equipment to Lebanon or treat injured people in Israel.The foreign minister spoke with the ambassadors hours before a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday to discuss the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), ahead of an expected renewal of its mandate this month.“Israel supports a mandate that will strengthen UNIFIL’s mandate to effectively perform its tasks,” Ashkenazi said. “Otherwise, the mandate is a half-empty vessel.”Ashkenazi pointed out that Resolution 1701, ending the 2006 Second Lebanon War, was meant to “prevent Hezbollah and its Iranian masters from turning southern Lebanon into a site of terrorism and a foundation for murderous abilities” in order to stop another war between Israel and Lebanon from breaking out.However, he said, UN Secretary-General reports on UNIFIL do not reflect the reality, by which Hezbollah has established itself firmly in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel.Ashkenazi also addressed the US push to extend the UNSC arms embargo on Iran, which he said Israel fully supports.“This is a necessary move in light of Iran’s aggression in the Middle East, support for terror and undermining regional stability,” he stated. “Blocking Iranian aggression is not only in Israel’s interests and that of the entire Middle East, but it is an interest and moral obligation of all the nations of the world.”Ashkenazi warned that decreasing pressure on Iran “is a prescription for failure.”Ambassadors and deputy ambassadors from the US, France, UK, Russia, China, Germany, Ireland, Kenya, South Africa, Vietnam and the Dominican Republic attended Ashkenazi’s briefing.
