February 4, 2010 - The Daily Star - Lebanon files UN complaint against Israel over abduction

Lebanon files UN complaint against Israel over abduction

Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: Lebanon filed a complaint against Israel to the UN Security Council Tuesday, protesting the abduction and torture of a shepherd from south Lebanon, a Lebanese Foreign Ministry source said. Israel snatched Rabih Zahra Sunday from an area along Lebanon’s border with Israel.
According to the source, Zahra’s arrest represents a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended Israel’s 2006 war on Lebanon.
Zahra was handed over to UN peacekeepers on Monday, after hours of detention south of the Blue Line.
A Lebanese Army statement on Monday said: “Zahra was badly beaten during his detention and the marks were clearly visible on his face and neck.”
A joint Lebanese Army and UN team inspected the area from which Zahra was taken and announced he had been arrested on Lebanese territory.
Zahra said Israeli soldiers had beaten him and asked him about Hizbullah’s activities of in south Lebanon. Pictures of Zahra taken after his ordeal showed no obvious signs of abuse.
Israeli media said Zahra had been found carrying a weapon when he was detained.
In a separate development, Israeli Army chief of staff Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi said on Tuesday that the calm prevailing along Israel’s borders was fragile.
“This blessed quiet is solid and lies on effective deterrence, but it is also fragile … My expectation from you is that you will be able to implement what you have seen here,” he told staff.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Lebanon of allowing Hizbullah to develop its military force by smuggling weapons in violation of a UN resolution.
“We are worried about developments in Lebanon and the great flow of weapons, rockets and missiles in blatant violation of [United Nations Security Council] Resolution 1701,” Netanyahu told reporters in Italy.
Israel and Hizbullah fought a devastating war in 2006, which killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, most of them civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought to an end the 34-day conflict, set mechanisms to stop arms smuggling into Lebanon.
Hizbullah is in the Lebanese government and is developing a military force under the government,” said Netanyahu.
“These weapons are without doubt aimed at Israeli civilians,” he added following talks in occupied Jerusalem with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. “It is the responsibility of the Lebanese government to prevent attacks against Israel and its citizens.” – The Daily Star