Cache with old rockets found in South Lebanon

All the weapons caches discovered so far date to the Second Lebanon War, UNIFIL spokeswoman tells 'Post'.

By BRENDA GAZZAR
UNIFIL 248 88 (photo credit: AP [file])
UNIFIL 248 88
(photo credit: AP [file])
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon, in coordination with the Lebanese army, found an old weapons cache containing several rockets in south Lebanon on Friday, a day after four rockets fired from south Lebanon struck Nahariya, UNIFIL officials announced on Friday. The cache, which was inside two disused bunkers, contained 34 Grad-P rockets and some boxes of ammunition. The bunkers, which were covered with camouflage nets, were located between the hills of Kafr Chouba and Kafr Hammam in the eastern sector of UNIFIL's operation. "The weapons appeared to date from the 2006 conflict," UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday. "They had no sign of recent use." UNIFIL sappers and the Lebanese army inspected the bunkers and determined the precise quantity of the weapons, Bouziane said. They were then handed over to the Lebanese army for appropriate disposal, she said. "There have been a number [of such weapons] that have been found" since UNIFIL started its work in 2006, she said. "It is something that is done on a routine basis. Our patrols go out there jointly with the Lebanese Armed Forces and on their own, and they do find them." All the weapons caches discovered so far have dated to the Second Lebanon War, she said. UNIFIL and the Lebanese army are "taking concrete measures to ensure that the area between the Litani River and the 'Line of Withdrawal' [the Blue Line] is free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL," in accordance with UN Security Resolution 1701, UNIFIL commander Maj.-Gen. Claudio Graziano said in Friday's statement. The resolution ended Israel's 2006 war with Hizbullah. UNIFIL intensified its patrols last month after eight Katyusha rockets equipped with timers and pointed at Israel were discovered by a farmer in a village northeast of Nakoura and defused by the Lebanese army on December 25. UNIFIL is still investigating that incident. The organization further intensified its patrols on Thursday after four Katyusha rockets were fired from the area of Tayr-Harfa, a village 11 km. east of Nakoura, and hit in the Nahariya area. Two people were lightly wounded by falls when one of the rockets hit a Nahariya retirement home and exploded in the kitchen. UNIFIL is also investigating that incident. No one has taken responsibility for Thursday's attacks, which has escalated tensions along Israel's northern border. Hizbullah has said it was not responsible for the rockets. Israeli officials suspect Palestinian terrorists in Lebanon but said they will hold the government of Lebanon as well as the Lebanese army responsible for preventing such attacks. Meanwhile, nearly 20,000 demonstrators marched through the streets of the southern Lebanese town of Nabatiya on Saturday to protest the IDF offensive in Gaza. The march was organized by Hizbullah. Senior Hizbullah lawmaker Muhammad Raad said his group would not be drawn into conflict with Israel over the offensive. Yaakov Katz and AP contributed to this report