UN discussion

From the UN report on the adoption of Security Council Security Council 5511th Meeting (Night), 12 August 2006, adopting resolution 1701 (2006) calling for a full "cessation of hostilities." The report includes a preamble, the full text of the resolution, and a brief summary of each speaker's comments. Here we post the report of Israel's concluding comments. [My own emphasis added]...

... DAN GILLERMAN ( Israel) said that, but for the alertness of the British security authorities, the world could have been sitting in the aftermath of a terrorist atrocity greater even than “9/11”. “The world would have mourned, but in the streets of Tehran, Damascus, Gaza and parts of Lebanon, there would be rejoicing, just as there was on 9/11”, he said, adding that though the plan was foiled, the threat -- and genocidal ideology that inspired it -- remained. For the past month, Israel had been confronting that same fanatical terrorism, which was quick to cross continents. Hostage-taking, suicide bombers and hijackings knew no boundaries, as many States around the table, among them Argentina, United Kingdom, Greece, Japan, Qatar, Russian Federation and the United States, knew only too well.

He said that whether the world would succeed in defeating that threat depended on the resolve demonstrated today. The way to avoid the crisis between Israel and Lebanon had been clear: implementation of the unconditional obligations set out in resolutions 1559 and 1680, which had set out issues for resolutions between Syria and Lebanon. The clear path forward was by disarming and disbanding Hizbollah and other militias, as well as by Lebanon’s exercise of authority over all its territory. But the will to implement such actions had been lacking, leading the people of Israel and Lebanon to pay a heavy price.

He said the failure to ensure the implementation of those resolutions meant Israel had no choice but to do what Lebanon had failed to. As a result, Hizbollah’s lethal capability had been dealt a major blow; bases had been dismantled; and stockpiles of Iranian missiles had been destroyed, showing terrorists and their sponsors that campaigns of terrorism would meet with the forceful response they deserved. However, Israel was ready to respond to calls from the Council, and to give the Lebanese Government another chance to create a new reality on the ground.

He went on to say that the resolution adopted today would establish a binding arms embargo requiring all States to prevent the supply of arms and weapons to militias and terrorists in Lebanon. It provided for a radically different international force with a mandate and capability to use all necessary means to create a new situation in Lebanon, in which the borders would be secure. Hizbollah would not rearm, and Lebanese armed forces would deploy throughout Lebanese territory including along the Blue Line. However, the resolution would do nothing unless the tools provided in it were used with resolve and decisiveness.

The stakes for the region were high, he said, as the last few weeks had given a “chilling glimpse” at what the region could be like if Iran were to succeed in achieving its goal of adding weapons of mass destruction to its arsenal. But the resolutions adopted by the Council today and last week had sent Iran a clear message: it could not develop weapons to threaten the region on its own territory, and it could not fight proxy wars on the territory of others.

He said there was no quarrel with the Lebanese people, and that Israel wished to live next to a peaceful Lebanon that was able to exercise its independence and sovereign responsibility like any other State. The people of Lebanon had a choice: to develop agriculture and make deserts bloom, or to turn towns into bases of terror and barren lands. They had a choice between working to advance medicine to bring health to body and limb, or to manufacture weapons of destruction for tearing limb from limb. It was a choice between those who invested in industry and trade, and those whose only export was terror.