The shocking interview that embarrasses the Unifil forces

Everyone knows that Hezbollah’s empire of terror was built along the border with Israel right under the nose of UNIFIL, even those who cannot admit it. UNIFIL was aware of everything that was happening a …

The shocking interview that embarrasses the Unifil forces

Everyone knows that Hezbollah’s empire of terror was built along the border with Israel right under the nose of UNIFIL, even those who cannot admit it. UNIFIL was aware of everything that was happening a few hundred meters from his observation points, they heard the sounds of tunnel digging and knew of weapons stored in civilian homes in villages facing Israel. And he never did anything. An interview by the Dutch news site BT, taken from the Jerusalem Postto a former UNTSO soldier in which he revealed that UNIFIL forces were heavily restricted by Hezbollah and that little was done when they reported violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

This former military man, who spoke anonymously to ensure his safety and who is referred to as Michael in the article as a fictitious name, testified that when it worked in Lebanon UNIFIL was totally subject to Hezbollah. He was tasked with observing and reporting violations of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 of 2006 calling for southern Lebanon to be Hezbollah-free, but despite the UN flag the operators were totally subject to the Shiite terrorist militia. “We clearly had limited freedom of movement. For example, we never operated after dark so during the nights they had so much time to act freely.”

Michael also recounted that UNIFIL and UNTSO had limited access from Hezbollah to cities in southern Lebanon. The terrorists stopped them every time they tried to enter certain areas. “They were blocking the road. They were not visibly armed but aggressive, and it was quite clear that they were members of Hezbollah. We knew very well who decided things, especially in the Shiite cities, they didn’t want us to see what they were doing.” Despite their obligations, Michael testified that the operators merely observed from afar when suspicious people photographed the Israeli border. “When we patrolled the Blue Line, we often saw civilians very close to Israeli military installations taking photos and when this happened we retreated and observed from afar. It was what Hetzbollah ordered us to do.”

Michael added that his ability to report what was happening to the Security Council was also limited because Hezbollah terrorists would act accordingly and he said that some external workers for UNIFIL and UNTSO openly supported Hezbollah. “We had a number of interpreters who were indoctrinated by Hezbollah. I once forced one of them out of my car while he was praising Hassan Nasrallah. I just didn’t want to listen to it.” Despite the barriers created by Hezbollah, Michael said that when reports of violations were made, there was no reaction from the UN: “We reported violations of resolution 1701 to our superiors on a daily basis, including in particular restrictions on our freedom of movement, and we have been instructed to report all violations, regardless of the number. But nothing ever happened. We have not heard back from them and nothing has been initiated. It was extremely frustrating. All this only confirmed to me what I had experienced in other countries I was sent to: the UN is incompetent.”

Despite the above criticisms, Michael argued that the field workers had good intentions. Of course there were also some who were fervently anti-Israel, particularly some Irish. Michael’s interview came in tandem with a report from Israel Hayom that Hezbollah terrorists captured by the IDF testified that Hezbollah paid money to UNIFIL personnel to use their bases for operations. Although UNIFIL denied corruption cases to the Jerusalem Post, according to Israeli security sources who spoke to the newspaper Israel Hayomsome Hezbollah operatives captured during recent Israeli Defense Forces ground operations in southern Lebanon revealed during interrogations that the organization paid UNIFIL personnel to use its positions in the region.

These sources, privy to the details, revealed that Hezbollah also took control of UNIFIL cameras in compounds near the Israeli border and used them for its own purposes. In light of these revelations and UNIFIL’s clear failure to prevent Hezbollah’s entrenchment along the border, Israel plans to rely primarily on the Lebanese Army’s commitments in any future agreement with Lebanon, rather than on UNIFIL which has proven ineffective over the years and is now accused of frequently collaborating with Hezbollah operatives.
When there are details of any corruptions we will write another more detailed article on the matter.

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