The United Nations Security Council omitted any mention of Hezbollah as it extended the annual mandate of its peacekeeping force along Israel’s northern border, who are tasked with monitoring compliance with Resolution 1701.
That text bans armed non-state actors such as Hezbollah from operating along Israel's border south of the Litani River.
“It is wrong that this council has ye tot condemn Hezbollah” and “we regret that due to a small minority of council members blocked the council from doing so in this mandate renewal,” US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the UNSC as it met in New York.
Member states approved the resolution, which was a significantly watered-down version of the document approved last year.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which was established in 1979, has been tasked with monitoring violations of the ceasefire that ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006, which was codified under UN Resolution 1701.
Israel has taken the UN to task in past years for not empowering UNIFIL to fully monitor the situation in southern Lebanon to help ensure that the Iranian proxy group could not be able to operate there.
Lebanon, in turn, has been frustrated by Israeli military actions against terror groups in its territory, claiming that this is a violation of its sovereignty.
This year’s vote, however, took place against the back-drop of a ten-month contained cross-border war between the IDF-Hezbollah, that has prevented over 60,000 Israelis from living in their border communities and has also caused thousands of Lebanese civilians to flee their border area with Israel. That war has run concurrently with the Gaza war.
Calling out Hezbollah
“Hezbollah's violent attacks put Israeli and Lebanese civilians at risk. They jeopardize Lebanon's stability and sovereignty. Lebanon should not be a haven for terrorist organizations or a launch pad for attacks against Israel.
“There is no dispute that Iran in clear violation of the arms embargo in Resolution 1701 provides Hezbollah with the majority of the rockets, missiles, and drones that are fired at Israel.
“Let's be clear, Israel has a right to defend itself against Hezbollah's attacks. No member of this council facing a brutal terrorist organization on its border would tolerate daily attacks and displacement of tens of thousands of its own people,” Wood said.
He stressed that to be effective UNFIL’s mandate had to be strengthened and the area south of the Litani River had to be freed of armed non-state actors.
The meeting took place in the aftermath of the IDF’s successful mission to thwart a major Hezbollah attack against Israel on Sunday and as Iran continues to threaten to strike the Jewish state directly, a step which the international community
British Deputy Ambassador James Kariuki said “Iran is sowing further conflict and chaos by supplying advanced weaponry to Hezbollah. We urge Iran to stand down their proxy and we call on Hezbollah to de-escalate immediately.”
Israel’s newly installed Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon noted that the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate was taking place in extraordinary circumstances, given the last ten months of war.
Since October 8, he said, Hezbollah has launched over 8,000 rockets against Israel and over 300 Iranian-made explosive unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as 15,000 anti-tank missiles.
Most of these rockets and drones were launched from southern Lebanon, Danon said, as he held up a picture of the rocket launchers in that area.
Still, he noted that the mandate did not mention Hezbollah, but the council can not continue to ignore that reality.
The resolution in past years, had also not mentioned Hezbollah, but its absence was particularly striking to the United States and Israel this year.
Danoin called for the council to designate Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as terror groups.
“It is unacceptable that this resolution puts both sides on an equal footing, calling for both to de-escalate,” he said.
Danon also called for Lebanon to action against Hezbollah. “It is your responsibility to ensure that there are no weapons in South Lebanon other than those of the Lebanese Armed Forces.”
Lebanon must “decide if it wants to be a functioning state which provides security to its citizens and its neighbors or become a failed state controlled by Iran.”
He warned that while Israel preferred a diplomatic solution to the cross-border violence, it would not tolerate this situation much longer. “If diplomacy fails, we will use all the necessary means to restore calm and stability to the north of Israel,” he said.
Lebanon's Deputy UN Ambassador Hadi Hachem told the council that the extension of UNIFIL’s mandate was “proof of the international community's interest in Lebanon.”
“It is a clear message from your honorable council in favor of stability and a ceasefire. It is a gesture of hope for all Lebanese who reject war, violence, and destruction, the Lebanese who want to give peace a chance," he said.
Netanyahu on Wednesday visited the northern border and pledged to restore security to the northern border, stressing that it was a “national goal first and foremost. We are committed to achieving it - and we will achieve it.”
The resolution itself called for a full implementation of Resolution 1701, including an end to all hostilities along that border.
Reuters contributed to this report.