United Nations

A/65/708­S/2011/47
Distr.: General 1 February 2011 English Original: Arabic

General Assembly Security Council

General Assembly Sixty-fifth session Agenda item 36 The situation in the Middle East

Security Council Sixty-sixth year

Identical letters dated 26 January 2011 from the Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council
On instructions from my Government, I have the honour to transmit to you herewith the position of Lebanon, in preparation for the comprehensive assessment that the Secretary-General will present in his forthcoming report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) (see annex). I should be grateful if you would have the present letter issued as an official document of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly, under agenda item 36, and of the Security Council. (Signed) Nawaf Salam Ambassador Permanent Representative

11-22290 (E) 030211 070211

*1122290*

A/65/708 S/2011/47

Annex to the identical letters dated 26 January 2011 from the Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council Position of Lebanon in preparation for the comprehensive assessment that will be presented by the Secretary-General in his forthcoming report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006)
In preparation for the comprehensive periodic assessment that will be presented by the Secretary-General in his forthcoming report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), Lebanon would like to note that ever since that resolution was adopted, it has devoted itself to the presentation of a paper that expresses its position with respect to the comprehensive assessment of the Secretary-General. Lebanon believes that from the day resolution 1701 (2006) was adopted, Israel has failed to honour its obligation to implement it or to withdraw from all occupied Lebanese territory, and has persisted in violating Lebanese sovereignty, thereby ensuring that no progress has been made in the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) with respect to obliging Israel to withdraw from all Lebanese territory and cease its infractions. Lebanon would like to draw attention to the following: 1. Lebanon reiterates its commitment to the full implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) and calls on the international community to bring pressure to bear on Israel to fulfil its obligation to implement that resolution in full; and exert greater, serious, efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire. 2. Since the last assessment, the Israeli enemy army has continued to violate Lebanese sovereignty in contravention of the provisions of resolution 1701 (2006). Those violations included the following: (a) During the reporting period, the Israeli enemy army continued to violate Lebanese airspace, territory and territorial waters, committing 298 air violations, 24 sea violations and 149 land violations, in flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and the provisions of resolution 1701 (2006), which calls for full respect for the Blue Line. Lebanon demands the immediate cessation of such violations. Lebanon affirms that the some 7,817 air, sea and land violations of the Blue Line and Lebanese sovereignty committed by Israel since the adoption of resolution 1701 (2006) constitute a flagrant violation of the aforementioned resolution and all other relevant United Nations resolutions, the most important of which is resolution 425 (1978) of 19 March 1978. Between the Israeli onslaught on Lebanon in 2006 and February 2010 there were between three and four Israeli violations per day. Since March 2010 the daily average to date is 11 violations, in addition to repeated Israeli threats to destroy the infrastructure of Lebanon. Those violations threaten international peace and security and constitute a flagrant violation of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Lebanon calls upon the international community to bring pressure to bear

2

11-22290

A/65/708 S/2011/47

on Israel and oblige it to cease its daily violations of Lebanese sovereignty and to respect the international resolutions adopted by the United Nations. (b) Lebanon reminds the international community yet again that Israel is seeking to undermine resolution 1701 (2006) by every means possible. On 7 December 2009, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that resolution 1701 (2006) had collapsed. (c) The networks of spies that were recruited by the Israeli enemy constitute a blatant aggression against Lebanon, an attack on its sovereignty and a flagrant violation thereof that contravenes international resolutions and, in particular, Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). More than 140 collaborators were recruited by Israel in order to assist its intelligence apparatus, and were under orders to undertake sabotage operations both within and beyond the areas of Lebanon in which the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is deployed. Those spy networks threatened national security by infiltrating Lebanese society and civil and military institutions through the recruitment of collaborators to work in the interests of Israeli intelligence. Those collaborators were ordered to undertake sabotage operations that included the detonation of explosives, the assassination of prominent Lebanese citizens, terrorist activities and attacks on Lebanese infrastructure. The networks, by using the collaborators to gain control over Lebanese land and mobile communications and eavesdrop on Lebanese citizens, also constituted an infringement of the security of communications in Lebanon that continues to this day, given that those collaborators provided Israel with the frequencies and passwords for the services of mobile telephone providers and their base transceiver stations, in addition to providing precise, in-depth studies on the operational procedures of mobile stations. Lebanon lodged a complaint with the Security Council with regard to the spy networks that were cultivated in Lebanon by Israel, in which it detailed some of the sabotage operations that they carried out on the direct orders of the Israeli intelligence services. That complaint was issued as an official document of the Security Council and the General Assembly (A/64/908S/2010/460). (d) On Friday, 3 December 2010, at 11.40 a.m., Israeli enemy forces detonated by remote control listening devices that they had planted in Lebanese territory at Wadi Qaysiyah on the outskirts of Majdal Silm in the Marj Uyun district opposite the Abbad position in South Lebanon. The detonation was carried out after Lebanese workers had discovered the Israeli listening devices while digging at that location with an excavator. The detonation caused multiple injuries to Hussein Shahadah and his brother Hassan Shahadah, both of whom had to be taken to hospital for treatment. The planting of listening devices in Lebanese territory by Israeli enemy forces is a blatant violation of Lebanese sovereignty, international law and Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), and affirms yet again Israel's disdain for international resolutions; its determination to pursue aggressive and provocative policies towards Lebanon; and the threat that Israel persistently poses to international peace and security. (e) On 15 December 2010, the technical divisions of the Lebanese Armed Forces inspected and dismantled an electronic device camouflaged as a rock that had been planted by Israeli enemy forces on a cliff some 1,715 metres above sea level in a rugged mountainous area between Jabal Baruk and Tallat Tumat Niha in the Lebanese Shuf that overlooks most of the towns in the Western and central

11-22290

3

A/65/708 S/2011/47

Bekaa, and from which Syria and many of the towns in southern Lebanon, as far as the borders with Palestine, may be seen. Field investigations carried out by the Lebanese Army discovered two artificial rocks that had been planted in the aforementioned area, each of which was around one cubic metre in size. The first concealed an electronic communications transmitter and receiver device, while the second contained a large number of panels to provide energy for the device in the first rock. The device had seven directive antennas, which were employed as follows: five were directed towards Ruwaysat al-Alam in occupied Palestinian territory, while the other two were directed towards the villages of the Western Bekaa, on a line beginning at the rock, and passing through Lala towards Masna` on the Lebanese-Syrian borders. Inside the electronic device were a number of electronic components for transmitting and receiving, some of which were made in the United States of America, while others were manufactured by Israeli companies. Markings in both Hebrew and English clearly showed that their origin was Israeli. It was evident to the Lebanese Army that the purpose of the device was to effect communication between sites inside Lebanese territory and the Israeli position at Ruwaysat al-Alam, where there are numerous communications and eavesdropping stations. The technical divisions of the Lebanese Armed Forces also detected and dismantled a second system which the Israeli forces had planted on the heights of `Arid al-Tuwaihan on Jabal Sannin, in a very rugged mountainous area some 2,500 metres above sea level. That device, which was extremely well concealed, was a cylindrical camera hidden in a grey imitation rock made of fibreglass. A second rock, found some 1.5 metres south of the first, was a transmitting and receiving device. The system was powered by three plastic battery packs that were reinforced in order to withstand both atmospheric conditions and heavy weights. Both items were buried in the ground and connected in such a way as to ensure that they would continue to function for a lengthy period. The second device comprised the following components: · The optic system: this consisted of a sophisticated device for long-distance surveillance which comprised two cameras, one for daylight use and the other with infrared night vision, and a laser device to determine distances and/or coordinates. The device had a complicated and sophisticated mechanical operating system and was linked to its operators by wireless apparatus that governs and operates it and transmits information and pictures. · Picture transmission apparatus: comprising a device for transmitting pictures and a patch antenna. · A system for receiving control signals. · The system control circuit. · The power system. The planting by Israel of those two systems deep within Lebanese territory constitutes a flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty, international laws and norms, and Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), and is prejudicial to international peace and security. It also constitutes an act of aggression against Lebanese territory and confirms yet again Israel's contempt for United Nations resolutions. Lebanon demands that the Security Council assume its responsibility to

4

11-22290

A/65/708 S/2011/47

maintain international peace and security and bring pressure to bear on Israel to abandon its aggressive and provocative policies towards Lebanon. The Council should also ensure that Israel complies with resolution 1701 (2006) and withdraws forthwith, unconditionally, from all Lebanese territory. (f) UNIFIL continues to exert every possible effort to ensure that Israeli forces withdraw completely from the area known as 14B, which is the Lebanese part of the village of Ghajar and the uninhabited adjacent area, and the Lebanese Government is continuing to cooperate with UNIFIL with a view to achieving that aim. Notwithstanding those efforts, the Israeli army continues to occupy the aforementioned area, in flagrant violation of its obligations under Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), which provides that Israel must withdraw immediately and unconditionally from the village of Ghajar. Israel's procrastination with regard to withdrawal from the area known as 14B compels us to question the sincerity of Israel's commitment to implementation of that resolution and the extent to which the Security Council is capable of obliging that country to end its occupation. It is incumbent upon the international community to take action to ensure that Israel completely withdraws from the Lebanese part of the village of Ghajar and area 14B as soon as possible. The Israeli Government is attempting to prevaricate, regardless of the fact that such withdrawal does not constitute a concession, but is one of the key requirements of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). (g) Lebanon believes that the continued occupation by Israel of the Lebanese Shab`a Farms and Kafr Shuba hills constitutes a threat to stability and security. Lebanon requests the international community to bring pressure to bear on Israel to completely and unconditionally withdraw from all Lebanese territory, and urges the Secretary-General of the United Nations to intensify his efforts to ensure that Israel withdraws from that territory. Lebanon reminds the international community that, under the provisions of the relevant Security Council resolutions, Israel is obliged to withdraw from the Shab`a Farms and Kafr Shuba hills. (h) Lebanon would like to bring to the attention of the international community yet again the fact that the maps relating to cluster bombs that Lebanon has received from Israel are incomplete and imprecise. Israel dropped those bombs randomly on densely populated civilian areas, thereby causing the death or injury of more than 400 persons, including 47 fatalities and 353 cases of severe and disabling injury. It should once more be underlined that the Government of Lebanon had its doubts about the precision of the maps that it received from Israel, and demands that information should be deposited regarding the dates on which the cluster bombs that were used during the Israeli raids were dropped, together with the quantity and type of those bombs. It should also once again be stressed that the Lebanese Army has asked for aerial photographs or video pictures of the targeted areas before and after the bombardments. Israel bears entire responsibility and should pay compensation for the deaths of numerous Lebanese citizens that have been caused by the cluster bombs and unexploded ammunition that were dropped by Israel during its onslaught on Lebanon, and for the numerous crimes that Israel has committed against Lebanon and its population. Lebanon urges the United Nations and donor countries to continue to address that issue, in order to protect the lives of innocent civilians, and to call for the Lebanon Mine Action Centre to be granted the necessary financial resources to enable it to carry out its mandate.

11-22290

5

A/65/708 S/2011/47

(i) The Israeli army has continued to use launches to conduct illegal patrols inside Lebanese territorial waters close to the so-called "line of buoys" that was positioned unilaterally and illicitly inside those waters. Israel makes the fraudulent claim that those buoys approximate the southern border of Lebanese territorial waters. The Israeli army has also continued to fire warning shots and launch grenades at Lebanese fishing boats. Furthermore, it regularly detonates explosive charges close to the aforementioned line, inside Lebanese territorial waters. In the twelfth report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) (S/2010/105), paragraph 29, the Secretary-General warned that those Israeli measures contribute to increasing tension between the parties. Lebanon does not recognize any line that has been put in place unilaterally, and considers that the Israeli measures are a further violation of Lebanese sovereignty and Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). Lebanon requests the United Nations to authorize UNIFIL to put in position in the region a line of buoys that is in keeping with international standards. (j) On 9 July 2010, Lebanon deposited with the United Nations a map on which the southern maritime border with occupied Palestine is clearly marked, together with the exclusive economic zone of Lebanon. The geographical coordinates of the borders, which were set forth in accordance with international standards, are specified. On 11 October 2010, Lebanon also deposited with the United Nations two maps designating the south-western maritime borders of the aforementioned economic zone, together with two tables in which are set forth the geographical coordinates of those borders. 3. The Lebanese Army is continuing to strengthen field and strategic cooperation with UNIFIL. (a) The coordination between the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL is particularly evident in their joint patrols, joint checkpoints and joint military training operations and exercises. (b) Lebanon stresses the fact that none of the reports of the SecretaryGeneral on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) has made any reference to indications that weapons are smuggled into the UNIFIL area of operations. All weapons that have been seized are remnants of the war waged against Lebanon by Israel in the summer of 2006. Lebanon further stresses once again that the Lebanese Army and the Lebanese security apparatus have not reported any incidence of weapon smuggling since the most recent report of the SecretaryGeneral on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) was submitted to the Security Council. (c) Israel's claim that weapons are being stockpiled and military installations established in densely populated civilian areas in South Lebanon bears no relation to the truth, and is designed to facilitate the targeting by Israel of innocent Lebanese civilians and justify their slaughter and terrorization, regardless of the fact that all international instruments and, in particular, those of international humanitarian law, outlaw and criminalize the targeting of civilians. (d) Lebanon continues to participate in tripartite meetings that are held with a view to maintaining peace along the Blue Line. Those meetings are the appropriate place in which to address issues pending from resolution 1701 (2006) and flashpoints along the aforementioned Line. Israel's persistence in resorting to

6

11-22290

A/65/708 S/2011/47

unilateral measures undermines those tripartite meetings and the role of UNIFIL in maintaining the peace in its area of operations. Furthermore, those unilateral measures are intended to raise doubt as to the capacity of the Lebanese armed forces to defend the sovereignty of all Lebanese territory, contrary to the spirit of resolution 1701 (2006). (e) With respect to the positioning of markers along the Blue Line, Lebanon affirms yet again the agreement that was reached at the tripartite meeting with a view to making progress in and accelerating that operation. Israeli procrastination in that regard raises doubts as to its real intentions. 4. Lebanon stresses the importance of strengthening and raising the level of international assistance in building the capacities of the Lebanese Army and security forces and preparing them to perform their duty to defend Lebanese sovereignty and protect the Lebanese people. The Lebanese Army needs reinforcements of arms and ammunition and to acquire more modern means of surveillance and up-to-date communications equipment. It also requires training in the use of all such equipment and apparatus. 5. Notwithstanding the limited capacities and resources of the Lebanese Army, the Government of Lebanon has decided to deploy two additional battalions south of the Litani river, in order to further demonstrate its commitment to the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006). 6. At the economic level, we once more support the call that is made to the international community in resolution 1701 (2006) to extend more of the assistance that is necessary for the reconstruction and development of Lebanon. In that connection, we urge States that took part in the Stockholm Conference, Paris III and the Vienna Conference to honour their commitments. Lebanon greatly appreciates all economic and social programmes and humanitarian assistance that UNIFIL provides to the Lebanese people in its area of operations, including projects that have an immediate impact and emergency medical services.

11-22290

7