'Hezbollah military build-up could devastate region'

Israeli envoy to UN Prosor warns Security Council that southern Lebanon has become storage facility for 50,000 missiles.

By HERB KEINON
Hezbollah supporters in Beirut 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS)
Hezbollah supporters in Beirut 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS)
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?”