UN ADMITS ALLOWING SYRIA TO RE-ARM HEZBOLLAH

UN Admits Syria Arming Hizbullah, UNIFIL Takes Nights Off (IsraelNationalNews)
Despite the 20,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon, the United Nations admits that weapons smuggling from Syria continues unhindered. A German report finds UNIFIL does not patrol after dark.

Hizbullah terrorists are free to roam at night without fear of being identified by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), according to a report by the German paper Der Spiegel.

UNIFIL commanders were interviewed by the paper, saying their function is to "observe changes in the behavior of the local population," with Spanish UNIFIL official Richard Ortax admitting that no patrols are carried out at night “because of the danger involved.”

One junior officer told Der Spiegel he was glad that his battalion only left their camp once. "It's absurd," he said. "We landed here and set up our tent city, but since then we've only left the camp to drive around and to make sure that we're seen."

The report cites a long tradition of UNIFIL inaction, which it says allowed time for a Finnish contingent to construct a giant sauna and an Indian contingent to decorate its base with tradition Indian artwork.

The UNIFIL troops and the 14,000 Lebanese soldiers stationed in the region add up to a total of around 20,000 troops in the 18 by 31-mile region of southern Lebanon. 6,000 more troops are still expected to arrive.

The United Nations itself has admitted that Syria was still successfully smuggling arms to the Hizbullah, which neither UNIFIL nor the Lebanese army plan to stop.