Israel: Lebanon violated UNSC resolution calls to disarm Hezbollah more than 2,000 times

NEW YORK – Lebanon violated UN Security Council Resolution 1701, 2,374 times in 2015, according to a report the Israeli Mission released to the UN on Sunday.Resolution 1701 was passed in 2006 and was intended to resolve that summer’s war between Israel and Lebanon.It called for a disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, including Hezbollah. It also stated that no armed forces other than the UN Interim Force in Lebanon and the Lebanese army would be posted south of the Litani River.According to the report, 2015 saw 1,079 incidents in which armed individuals were cited freely roaming in southern Lebanon.Additionally, there were 589 violations involving the UN-delineated Blue Line border between Israel and Lebanon, and 653 Hezbollah patrols along the border fence.Two incidents in which Israel was attacked, including two rockets fired at Nahariya, were also recorded, as well as 51 violent demonstrations against the IDF.“Hezbollah has free reign in south Lebanon and instead of reacting forcefully to their violations, the UN is ignoring the problem,” said Danny Danon, ambassador to the UN.“Israel will continue to show zero tolerance regarding anyone who attacks us,” he told UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon. “The government of Lebanon is not acting and armed Hezbollah operatives are roaming freely throughout the south Lebanon in violation of the UN.”The report follows Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s threat last week to strike the ammonia storage facility in Haifa, which he claimed would cause a nuclear-like explosion.Danon had filed several complaints about violations of the resolution to Ban since January, including one earlier this month in which he asked the secretary-general to condemn rocket attacks from Lebanon on northern Israel.