United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 is a resolution intended to resolve the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.

It was unanimously approved by the United Nations Security Council on 11 August 2006. The Lebanese cabinet, which includes two members of Hezbollah, unanimously approved the resolution on 12 August 2006. On the same day, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said that his militia would honor the call for a ceasefire. He also said that once the Israeli offensive stops, Hezbollah's rocket attacks on Israel would stop. On 13 August the Israeli Cabinet voted 24-0 in favor of the resolution, with one abstention. The ceasefire began on Monday, 14 August 2006 at 8 AM local time, after increased attacks by both sides.

The Resolution

The Resolution demands: [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_1701] ]

* Full cessation of hostilities (OP1)
* Israel to withdraw all of its forces from Lebanon in parallel with Lebanese and UNIFIL soldiers deploying throughout the South (OP2)
* Hezbollah to be disarmed (OP3)
* Full control of Lebanon by the government of Lebanon (OP3)
* No paramilitary forces, including (and implying) Hezbollah, will be south of the Litani River (OP8).

The Resolution at the same time also emphasizes: ]

* The need to address urgently the unconditional release of the abducted Israeli soldiers, that have given rise to the current crisis.

Disarmament of armed groups in Lebanon

The Resolution calls for "full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of July 27, 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state."

Hezbollah

On August 14, Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said on Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV that he is not in favor of Hezbollah's disarmament, since the Lebanese army is not strong enough to defend Lebanon and the Israeli army is still occupying Lebanon, and that his fighters would not be forced to disarm by "intimidation or pressure." [ [http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/06/08/16/10060536.html Gulfnews: Hezbollah 'to aid troop movement' ] ] Along the same lines, on August 16, 2006, senior Hezbollah official Hassan Fadlallah stated that the issue of his organization's disarmament was not on the agenda. [ [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525882124&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Report: Lebanese army to be only force to bear arms | Jerusalem Post ] ] Similarly, after adoption of the resolution Lebanese Defence Minister Elias Murr said on August 14, 2006, in a television interview that "the army won't be deployed to south Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah.

Soon after the resolution's passage, both the UN and UNIFIL contributing nations such as France disclaimed responsibility for disarming Hezbollah. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/18/africa/ME_GEN_Mideast_Peacekeepers.php U.N. commander says his troops will not disarm Hezbollah - iht,africa,Mideast Peacekeepers - Africa & Middle East - International Herald Tribune ] ] Annan asserted that "dismantling Hezbollah is not the direct mandate of the UN," which could only help Lebanon disarm the organization. [ [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=2&cid=1154525882124&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Report: Lebanese army to be only force to bear arms | Jerusalem Post ] ] Annan then said on August 25, 2006, "The understanding was that it would be the Lebanese who would disarm [Hezbollah] " and that "Obviously, if at some stage they need advice or some help from the international community and they were to approach us, we would consider it, but the troops are not going in there to disarm."cite web |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1527391/UN-will-not-stop-Syria-sending-weapons-to-Lebanon.html |title=UN will not stop Syria sending weapons to Lebanon |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |author=Harry De Quetteville and Michael Hirst |date=2006-08-27 |accessdate=2008-05-23]

Israel, for its part, indicated that if Hezbollah is not disarmed, as called for in the Resolution, Israel will resume operations in Lebanon. [http://www.dailyindia.com/show/51735.php/Disarm_Hezbollah_or_operations_resume:_Israel] Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev told the Associated Press on August 18 that Israel is keeping its commitments in the UN ceasefire resolution and expects Lebanon to do the same. "That resolution clearly calls for the creation of a Hezbollah-free zone south of the Litani River, and anything less would mean that the resolution is not being implemented," Regev told AP.cite news|title=Cheers, flags greet national army in south Lebanon|date=2006-08-18|publisher=CNN|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/08/18/mideast.main/index.html]

Hezbollah agreed to disarm its forces south of the Litani River, but not to pull its forces out of southern Lebanon. "Hezbollah individuals are people who live in the south and they will not leave their homes and villages, but an armed Hezbollah will not be in the south," said Mohamad Chatah on August 16, a senior adviser to Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora. UN Resolution 1701 prohibits all armed militias from operating anywhere in all of Lebanon ("no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state" and "full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and of resolutions 1559 and 1680, that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of 27 July 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese State"), but does not specify whether the militias should disarm or be put under the control of the Lebanese government. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who said that the "ball is now in the court of the government of Lebanon" to ensure no armed militias operate in southern Lebanon.cite news|title=Lebanese troops to head south Thursday|date=2006-08-16|publisher=CNN|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/08/16/mideast.main/index.html]

On August 21, the Turkish newspaper "Hürriyet" reported that Turkish authorities intercepted five Iranian cargo aircraft and one Syrian aircraft carrying missiles to Hezbollah. The aircraft were forced to land at Diyarbakır Airport in southeastern Turkey. The aircraft were not allowed to take off after US intelligence sources found there were three missile launchers and crates of C-802 missiles on board the planes which were identical to the missile that struck the Israeli Navy Ship "Hanit" during the war. Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that Israel would continue to prevent weapons from reaching Hezbollah from Syria and Iran. "I will not allow the situation that happened before the war to return," said Peretz during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. He also asked that Turkey send troops to the international force deploying in Lebanon.cite news|title=Turks intercept Iranian missile shipment to Hizballah|date=2006-08-21|website=Israel Today|url=http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=9144]

In January 2007, Israeli military intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin criticized both Hezbollah for rearming and the United Nations for "doing nothing to prevent it or disarm them." ["Hezbollah Rebuiling, UNIFIL Ignoring." "The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles". 12 Jan. 2007: 23.]

Fatah

The Lebanese government demanded that Palestinians in refugee camps in the Litani area disarm in accordance with the resolution, senior Fatah operative in Lebanon, Monir Al-Makdah, said on August 28, 2006. Reportedly, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora "made the request to Fatah representative in Lebanon, Abbas Za'aki. Al-Makdah rejected the demand in an interview with Jordanian newspaper "Al-Dostur", saying that the Security Council resolution was illegal since it did not include the right of return for Palestinian refugees." [JPost.com Staff. [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525957647&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull "Report: Hizbullah razes 14 Shaba posts."] "Jerusalem Post". 28 August 2006. 13 January 2007.]

New UN troops for UNIFIL II

On June 30, 2006, UNIFIL was made up of 1,990 troops from China, France, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Poland, and Ukraine, supported by 50 military observers from UN Truce Supervision Organization and about 400 civilian staff members.

As of January 8, 2007, UNIFIL has grown to 11,512 military personnel from the following nations: Belgium (375; 394 pledged), China (190), Denmark (78, warships; 150 pledged), Finland (205), France (2,000), Germany (1,500, surveillance ships and planes; 2,400 pledged), Ghana (660), Greece (225), Guatemala (1), Hungary (4), India (878), Indonesia (850), Ireland (164), Italy (2,415; commands UNIFIL forces),cite news|source = Haaretz|title = Italian general formally takes command of UN force in Lebanon|url = http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/821292.html] Luxemburg (2), Malaysia (220; 360 pledged), Nepal (234), Netherlands (161), Norway (134), Poland (319), Portugal (146, military construction engineers), Qatar (200), Slovenia (11), Spain (1,277, armored vehicles), South Korea (270 special forces pledged, 80 support personnel pledged), Sweden (68, and a ship), Turkey (509), and Ukraine (200), supported by 53 military observers from UN Truce Supervision Organization and about 308 local civilian staff members.cite news|title=350 S. Korean Troops to Keep Peace in Lebanon |date=2006-01-15|publisher=Times|url=http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200701/kt2007011518124268040.htm] [http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/facts.html UNIFIL: United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon - Facts and Figures ] ] [http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/08/28/mideast.annan/ CNN.com - Annan wants Hezbollah to free captured Israelis - Aug 28, 2006 ] ] [http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=10942 UNIFIL force reaches 11,083 soldiers ] ]