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Lebanon Seeks to Soften UN Criticism of its Activity on Israeli Border

31/07/2002

In an effort to curb criticism of their government, officials in Lebanon are attempting to persuade United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to tone down his criticism of their actions on the southern border with Israel, HA'ARETZ reported. The UN levelled heavy criticism in its latest report on southern Lebanon, which was recently submitted to the Security Council.
The report was issued against the background of Hizbullah attacks on Israel's northern border and calls or the reduction of UNIFIL from its current regiment of 3,628 soldiers to approximately 2,000 by the end of the year. In the report, Annan criticizes both Hizbullah's stated commitment to perpetrating attacks on Israel and the Lebanese government's refusal to deploy in the area, in violation of Security Council resolutions. The report also stated that no document has been found to support Lebanon's claim to the Shaba Farms region, whose "redemption from Israeli occupation" is the official pretext for Hizbullah's continuing attacks. In addition, it sharply criticized Hizbullah's arrest and beating of three UNIFIL soldiers in April.
Regarding Hezbollah's provocations along the border, the report noted that between March 30 and April 31, Hezbollah fired 28 Katyusha rockets, 1,246 mortar shells, 152 antitank missiles and 11 ground-to-air missiles at Israel. In contrast, Annan wrote, Israel confined its responses to the areas from which Hizbullah was operating

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