Senior Lebanese military officer is colluding with Hezbollah, Israel claims
A high-ranking member of the Lebanese armed forces colluded with Hezbollah’s efforts to build a cross-border tunnel network, Israel’s UN ambassador alleged yesterday.
The comments from Danny Danon followed confirmation from the UN peacekeeping force (Unifil) two days ago that four tunnels had been found close to Lebanon’s southern border with Israel.
On December 4, the Israeli military announced Operation Northern Shield to destroy tunnels it said had been dug by Hezbollah under the border.
Mr Danon, however, went further, displaying a photograph of a tunnel system, captioned “Hezbollah’s ‘Conquering the Galilee’ Plan”, in a theatrical presentation reminiscent of those delivered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He warned Israel would respond militarily if threatened and said the Lebanese military was complicit in Hezbollah’s plans.
“The situation is not good, we need to see a change,” he said before the UN Security Council met to discuss Israel’s allegations.
“Israel even revealed to Unifil that a high-ranking member of the Lebanese armed forces actively co-operates with Hezbollah.
“When Unifil told the Lebanese Army about the tunnels the Lebanese army sent the information straight to Hezbollah, who then sealed the tunnels to destroy the evidence. It is part of Hezbollah’s plan to invade the Galilee, our northern part, and destroy Israel.”
Playing archive footage of a speech by Hezbollah’s secretive leader Hassan Nasrallah in 2013, Mr Danon said the plan to invade was long in the making.
In the video, Mr Nasrallah, who has not in the past fortnight spoken about the tunnels, appeared to suggest Hezbollah fighters should prepare for an operation to conquer the Galilee.
“What you are seeing is Hezbollah’s conquest of the Galilee battle plan in action. This is just the ground component, or offensive that will use Hezbollah’s arsenal of over 100,000 rockets and missiles to strike all of Israel,” Mr Danon said.
“Make no mistake, if Hezbollah forces our hand we will act swiftly and we will do it with full force.”
At yesterday’s meeting, several members of the Security Council condemned Hezbollah’s actions but also criticised Israel for breaches of Lebanese territory and airspace.
Amal Mudallali, Lebanon’s permanent representative to the UN, said the country was committed to its international obligations. “Unfortunately, it seems my country is condemned to repeated threats. Lebanon has witnessed four Israeli invasions in the past 40 years,” she said.
“Today, we are witnessing another volatile situation concerning the tunnels. Lebanon has said repeatedly at the highest levels that we are not interested in a conflict.”
Israel’s latest allegations coincide with Lebanon nearing formation of a new government, seven months after elections. The US warned late on Tuesday that the political process could see Hezbollah gaining ever more control in how the country is run.
“We continue to have deep concerns regarding Hezbollah’s growing political power inside Lebanon,” a State Department official told Reuters.
“We are concerned about the efforts of Hezbollah’s political allies that provide it with top cover and a veneer of legitimacy.”