The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, denied any intention of amending UN Security Council Resolution 1701, stressing that both the UN and Lebanon “insist on the implementation of this text.”
Resolution 1701 put an end to the July 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. It provides for the withdrawal of Hezbollah north of the Litani River and the deployment of the Lebanese Army and a multinational force in the border region.
Wronecka’s comments were reported by the Chairman of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, Fadi Alameh, following the Committee’s meeting with the UN official on Tuesday.
The clarifications come amid reports of an international request for amendments to the text. “It’s just speculation in the press,” said Wronecka, quoted by Alameh.
Opposition-March 8
According to MPs who participated in the meeting, Wronecka proposed meeting the committee again after the festive season to discuss a sheet she had prepared. She also pointed out that the UN Secretary-General’s latest report on the implementation of 1701 stresses the importance of this resolution, the role of UNIFIL, and the continued financial support for the Lebanese Army.
During the meeting, divergent opinions emerged between deputies close to March 8 and others close to the opposition. The former stressed that Hezbollah’s operations take place mainly in Kfarchouba and the Shebaa farms, and therefore do not run counter to 1701.
For their part, opposition MPs stressed the need to apply this resolution, pointing out that it provides for a demilitarized zone in south Lebanon extending as far as the Litani River, where only the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL would have the right to use their weapons.
Some MPs also stressed that if a buffer zone were to be set up on the Lebanese side, the same would have to be done on the Israeli side.
Alameh
In a press briefing after the meeting, Alameh said it focused on “Resolution 1701 and developments in south Lebanon, in particular the Israeli attack that killed a Lebanese Army soldier yesterday (Tuesday).” He said the committee condemned the attack “as a flagrant violation of Resolution 1701.”
Alameh pointed out that the Lebanese operations in south Lebanon are a “defensive response to Israeli attacks, which are a violation of Resolution 1701,” adding, “We also raised the issue of Israel’s large-scale use of phosphorus bombs in south Lebanon.”
According to him, the committee members explained that Israel has been violating Lebanese land, air, and sea space since 2006 and is using Lebanese space to strike targets in Syria. He added that “UN reports confirm Israel’s violation of Resolution 1701 over these years.”
During the meeting, the deputies also condemned “the Israeli massacres in Gaza, which constitute a violation of international law,” and demanded that Israel “be held to account for its crimes against the Palestinian people.”
The issue of displaced Syrians in Lebanon was also raised. The UN coordinator stated that “the United Nations understands Lebanon’s difficult socio-economic situation and the sacrifices it has made,” according to Alameh. In this context, the committee recalled the proposals it had put forward on the subject, notably that assistance to Syrian refugees should be provided in Syria and not in Lebanon.
