Israel’s former Ambassador to the United Nations, and former director-general of the Foreign Ministry Dore Gold called on the United Nations Security Council this week to act in accordance with Resolution 1701 — adopted after the 2006 Second Lebanon War — and carry out the mandate of UNIFIL, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.
Gold, who is now the president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, made the remarks during a conversation at the prestigious Hudson Institute, Washington Institute of Technology at the Hudson Institute.
“There are about 200 Shiite villages in southern Lebanon, and in the homes of many of the residents in those villages are prohibited weapons,” he said.
“The residents accept their payment, or are simply too frightened to refuse the terrorist organization.” In the event of military clash, he said, the Israel Defense Forces face a problem: “In time of war, an officer in the IDF must decide whether he needs to take action against those sites. The second option is to do nothing — and then our citizens, the residents of northern Israel, will be harmed,” Gold pointed out.
“I hope that none of Israel’s critics will have to face the same dilemma, but that is part of our responsibility as a state, and as a Jewish state in particular,” Gold added.
In his remarks, Gold criticized the UN Security Council for not condemning the Hezbollah forces, acting in complete contradiction to its own decision of 2016. He also said he did not believe the Council would condemn Hezbollah in the future, either.
This comes against the background of the tensions in the north. It also follows the speech earlier this year by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations General Assembly in which he revealed the stockpiles of missiles hidden by Hezbollah in the populated areas of Beirut. Netanyahu also told the UNGA that Iran is helping Hezbollah build precise weapons manufacturing plants to produce guided missiles for use against Israel.