Israel's decision to continue its intelligence operations in Lebanon is a serious violation of UN Resolution 1701, Omayma Abdel-Latif writes in Beirut Israeli intelligence operations in Lebanon are hardly new, and so the Israeli decision to continue business as usual in Lebanon this week in response to a UN enquiry about an Israeli espionage device found near the southern village of Hola will have surprised few people. The Lebanese army and Hizbullah have accused Israel of planting the device to target Hizbullah's communications network. Israeli sources initially hinted that the device had been planted in 2006, but Hizbullah and Lebanese army sources say otherwise. When Israeli planes subsequently destroyed the device, it caused a huge blast. The incident was the latest in a long list of Israeli violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which was designed to end the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. It comes just two weeks before the holding of a Security Council meeting on 10 November to assess the UN secretary-general's 10th report on the implementation of Resolution 1701. Both Israel and Hizbullah have exchanged accusations of the other violating the UN Resolution. Israel claims that Hizbullah has been stockpiling weapons in the area south of Litani River, which, according to 1701, should be an arms-free zone, while the period between the release of the ninth UN report in March and the 10th report in June witnessed 388 Israeli airspace violations, 48 territorial violations and 77 sea violations. Lebanese observers say that Israel's continued violations of Lebanese territory, sea and airspace have now rendered the UN Resolution irrelevant, with Hizbullah officials claiming that the secretary-general's reports are "biased towards Israel". Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qasim has accused the UN of "turning a blind eye to Israel's violations of the Resolution", while focussing on the resistance movement's actions. "To the UN, Israel's violations do not exist. For them, it is only Hizbullah that is violating the resolution," Qasim said. While there is nothing new in Israeli intelligence activities in Lebanon, what was most significant about Israel's announcement this week is that it has for the first time abandoned its policy of silence regarding its activities in Lebanon and particularly against Hizbullah targets. While the Israeli military representative attending a meeting held at UNIFIL headquarters in Naquora, south Lebanon, last Wednesday to discuss the spying device refused either to confirm or deny that the device belonged to Israel, he nevertheless said that "Israel will continue to employ its intelligence capabilities in Lebanon," in order to meet what he claimed was the threat posed by Hizbullah. The termination of Israeli air violations was conditional on what he described as "the Lebanese government's ability to impose its control on the south." Until that happens, he said, "Israel will continue to defend itself by any means necessary." Among other activities, Israel's intelligence warfare in Lebanon against Hizbullah has included running several espionage networks in the country. However, last May Israel's secret spying activities were dealt what may turn out to be a fatal blow when Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF), undoubtedly with Hizbullah's assistance, succeeded in uncovering 11 such networks made up of 15 suspects involved in espionage activities for Israel. The recently found hi-tech Israeli espionage device, together with the previous uncovering of Israeli espionage networks in Lebanon, suggests that Israel is desperate to achieve a major security strike against Hizbullah. During the past few months, a spate of security incidents has escalated tension on Lebanon's southern borders. Last week, an explosion went off in a building in the village of Tyre Filsay near the city of Tyre. The Lebanese army and Hizbullah both refrained from commenting on the incident. Last July, a similar explosion took place in an abandoned building in another southern village of Kherbet Selem, Israel claiming on this occasion that the building had been used as a secret Hizbullah arms depot. Hizbullah responded by saying that the building housed ammunition left over from the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, but neither explosion can be divorced from the ongoing intelligence warfare between Hizbullah and Israel. Peace in the south of the country has been interrupted by rocket launches from the south into Israeli occupied territory. Hizbullah has repeatedly said that it is not responsible for the attacks, and Salafist groups are reported to have carried them out, though no specific group has declared responsibility. The UN Security Council is due to hold another session assessing the implementation of Resolution 1701 next month. The most important issue on the agenda will be that while the resolution may have ended the war in 2006, it may not be capable of preventing a future one.
