By EREZ D. MAISEL, SARIT ZEHAVI
Hezbollah’s military grows in numbers on the Lebanon-Israel border, known as the Blue Line.
The last few months have witnessed an alarming development in southern Lebanon. For instance, the veiled yet blatant rise in the number of Hezbollah military collection sites on the boundary between Israel and Lebanon, known as the Blue Line. This recreates a tactical reality mirroring the Hezbollah disposition prior to July 2006 (the Second Lebanon War) and is a clear and present danger to northern Israel.
The upcoming UN annual discussions on UNIFIL mandate renewal in late August is an opportune moment to reflect on this large organization’s actual impact in fulfilling its purpose, as prescribed by the UN Security Council following the war in August 2006 (UN National Security Council Resolution 1701): supporting “security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including the establishment… of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL”.
