Days after Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah took responsibility for the recent
drone sent over Israel, Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor warned the Security
Council on Monday that “Hezbollah’s continued provocation and military buildup
could have devastating consequences for the region.”
Prosor, in a blunt
speech during the council’s monthly debate on the Middle East, said – in a
reference to the EU – that “some countries around this table continue to define
Hezbollah as a charitable and political group, not a terrorist organization.
This is no less ridiculous than describing the Mafia as a gentleman’s social
club.”
Prosor said that Hezbollah – which has admitted that being placed
on the EU’s terrorism list would destroy it – raises money form supporters in
Europe as “if it were the Red Cross.”
“How much longer must this
absurdity continue? How many more innocents must fall victim to Hezbollah terror
before Europe acts?” he asked. “It is time for all responsible nations to call
Hezbollah exactly what it is: a global terrorist organization.”
Hezbollah
today has more missiles than many NATO members, Prosor charged, saying that
Nasrallah and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “sit on Bashar Assad’s
advisory board, offering the Tyrant of Damascus guidance on how to butcher the
Syrian people more efficiently.
“I know that there is no shortage of
those willing to express their ‘commitment to Israel’s security’ in these
halls,” he said. “Yet, displays of commitment to Israel’s security have been
difficult to find over the past six years as Hezbollah has turned southern
Lebanon into one giant storage facility for 50,000 missiles.”
Regarding
Iran, Prosor characterized as a “sham” and a “shame” that Iran would speak
“later in this debate” on behalf of the non-aligned movement, which it now
chairs.
“It is time for all those NAM countries that care about peace and
security to realign the non-aligned movement,” he said. “And it is time for the
international community to finally act to stop the Iranian regime from acquiring
nuclear weapons.”
Prosor also addressed the Palestinians plan – expected
after the US elections in November – to seek nonmember state observer status at
the UN, saying: “Peace must be negotiated. It cannot be imposed from the
outside. There are no shortcuts. No quick fixes. And no instant
solutions.”
Prosor said those thinking that it will be possible to return
to “business as usual” between Israel and the Palestinians “are
mistaken.”
“How can Israel be expected to abide by the same agreements
that the Palestinian leadership ignores whenever it is convenient?” Prosor said,
arguing that the Palestinian bid is a clear breach of the Oslo Accords. “How
could anyone expect the Israeli public to trust this Palestinian leadership when
it signs future agreements?”