Hezbollah Digs In And Rearms As The U.N. Watches

Ominous signs from Israel's northern border. Hezbollah is preparing for Round Two and the UN is doing nothing about it. As usual. This from Uzi Mahnaimi Zarit for the Times On Line ;

HEZBOLLAH, the powerful Iranian-backed militia that fought the Israeli army last summer, has built a network of underground military bunkers under the feet of United Nations peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon close to Israel’s border.

It has rebuilt its fighting capability and Israeli intelligence now estimates that it has stockpiled 20,000 rockets.

"Hezbollah will never leave southern Lebanon," said Shaul Mofaz, the former defence minister, last week. "It’s now armed with rockets that could hit central and even southern Israel."

Hezbollah, which was forced to move away from the border as part of last August’s ceasefire deal, has returned by stealth. "Since the Israeli forces left, Hezbollah has been building formidable military underground posts under the noses of the UN," said an Israeli intelligence officer.

Recall that UNSCR 1701 states that the Lebanese Government is to "exercise its full sovereignty so that there will be no weapons without the consent of the Government of Lebanon and no authority other than that of the Government of Lebanon.

And calls for;

"full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon"

As always….nothing from the UN.

Soon after the ceasefire agreement Hezbollah began to rebuild its positions in Shi’ite villages close to the Israeli border.

"The entrance to an underground post is usually in the backgarden of a Hezbollah supporter," said one source. "The householder receives compensation for the use of his garden."

Modern equipment is used to sink the shafts, sometimes as deep as 70ft. Some bunkers are as wide as a football field, others can hold fewer than 10 fighters.

They are equipped with sophisticated communications equipment and many are believed to be connected by tunnels, limiting Israel’s ability to destroy them from the air.

Since last August huge quantities of arms, including Russian-made antitank missiles, short- and long-range rockets, small arms, mines and ammunition have been smuggled into Lebanon from Syria and Iran.

Crossposted to Dhimmi Watch