Israel’s United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon demanded in a letter sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council that they condemn the Hezbollah terrorist tunnels “in the strongest terms possible” and hold Lebanon’s government “responsible for the dangerous destabilization of the region.”
In his letter, Danon wrote Hezbollah is “advancing an Iranian agenda to turn southern Lebanon into a launching pad for attacks that threaten the lives of innocent Israelis, while endangering Lebanon and its citizens.”
In light of the violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Danon wrote, “The Lebanese government must abide by its international commitments and fully implement the above-mentioned Security Council resolutions.
“The construction of these tunnels, built by Hezbollah and funded by Iran — alongside the ongoing efforts to transfer arms, convert inaccurate projectiles into precision-guided missiles and manufacture precision-guided missiles in Lebanon – are a flagrant violation of Israel’s sovereignty and mark yet another stage of Hezbollah’s ongoing efforts to expand its military build-up and further destabilize the already volatile region,” Danon added.
Standing outside the building in New York City, Danon called Tuesday for a meeting of the Security Council to address the issue.
“Hezbollah continues to operate with Iranian funding, direction, and patronage,” the ambassador said. “The Security Council behind me had said in a clear voice to Hezbollah that it must not arm itself and continue its terrorist activities against Israel. Yet, this did not prevent them from continuing their operations, and now they are also trying to infiltrate into Israel through tunnels.
“It is clear that Hezbollah shows willful disregard towards the Security Council and aggressively violated Resolution 1701.
“Israel expects the international community and the Security Council to condemn this activity by Hezbollah and to demand that the Lebanese government implement Security Council resolutions,” Danon said.
“We will do whatever it takes to defend our sovereignty and ensure the security of the residents of Israel.”