Indian Peace-keepers are helping Hezbollah

 

Indian Peace-keepers are helping Hezbollah, it seems: 

 

Israel has accused Indian troops, part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) deployed along its border with the Lebanon, of not only doing nothing to prevent the infiltration of Hezbollah supporters into its territory, but also co-operating with them, reports say.

 

The accusations came after 15 Lebanese civilians Friday crossed illegally into Israel, shouting and waving the Hezbollah flag. Israeli troops, who spotted the group, did not confront them, as they were reportedly unarmed and returned to their country minutes later without incident.

 

In a letter to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the President of the U.N. Security Council Ruhakana Rugunda, Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Gabriela Shalev accused the Indian contingent of having done nothing to prevent the demonstrators from crossing the border and even co-operating with the group.

 

"(The demonstrators) stood opposite the UNIFIL force, (which did nothing), and worse than that, according to statements made by the organizers of the demonstration, they even co-operated with them," she wrote.
 
She also lambasted Hezbollah for its "serious violations of Resolution 1701," which included both the border breach, as well as an attack by Lebanese villagers on UNIFIL troops Saturday, while the latter were investigating an explosion last week in a suspected Hezbollah arms depot in southern Lebanon.

 

Both incidents "demonstrate an escalation and a pattern of behavior in Lebanon, that must be confronted," she said.

 

This is not the first time that Tel Aviv has accused Indian troops stationed in south Lebanon of having helped Hezbollah. In October 2000, Indian troops were blamed by the Jewish nation for not only "quietly watching" the abduction of three Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah but even "assisting them" after having accepted bribes.

 

UNIFIL has a long and ugly history in this regard. The most egregious incident took place during a Hezbollah kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. UNIFIL troops filmed the incident, but did nothing to stop the kidnapping. There is also a strong suspicion that during the Second Lebanon War UNIFIL troops were giving Hezbollah information about Israeli movements and deployment.

 

Note that the report states "This is not the first time that Tel Aviv has accused ..." Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Use of "Tel-Aviv" as a synonym for the Israeli government is typical of Arab propaganda, but this news item originated in the United States.  

 

Ami Isseroff