The final nail in the coffin called 1701

On the same day that Syria and Lebanon agree to demarcate the border between the two countries - with the exception of Shaba Farms (Har Dov) which is not being marked so that Hezbullah retains a continuing excuse to attack Israel - Italian UNIFIL commander Claudio Graziano accuses Israel of violating UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and lauds his fighting force campers' excellent cooperation with Hezbullah.

During a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Graziano cited the IAF forays over Lebanon and the village of Ghajar, which he called "a permanent violation of 1701" and "a permanent area under occupation."

A further violation, according to Graziano, was Israel's failure to provide maps of all the locations where it dropped cluster bombs during the 2006 war.

In contrast, he said that the UN enjoyed excellent cooperation with Hizbullah and with the local Lebanese people.

"At this moment Hizbullah is one of parties that agrees with 1701," he stressed. [Only at this moment? Given how ineptly it was drafted, they probably always 'agreed' with it. CiJ]

Graziano asserted that apart from UN troops, Lebanese soldiers and hunters, no one was armed south of the Litani River. [What are 40,000 rockets between friends? CiJ]

"We have seen hunters, we saw somebody moving with one weapon and he was arrested, but we never met anybody [else] moving with weapons," he said.

He conceded that his soldiers were not trying to prevent weapons smuggling from Syria as demanded by the UNSC because the Lebanese government had not requested such action. [Do these guys work for the 'Security Council' or for the 'Lebanese government'? CiJ]

The UNIFIL commander emphasized that Israel had made numerous allegations regarding weaponry that UNIFIL was investigating.

Here's UNIFIL's motto as approved by Foreign Minister Tzipora Livni, the 'architect' of UN Resolution 1701.

Unfortunately, the next war with Hezbullah is likely coming soon to a theater near you.

Cross-posted to Israel Matzav.