UN Resolution fails to acknowledge that Israel has launched a War against Lebanon by Michel Chossudovsky
www.GlobalResearch.ca; direct URL here | 12 Aug 2006
Transcript of Resolution 1701: “the word “War” is not mentioned
UN Security Council Resolution 1701 was drafted by France and the US in close consultation with the Israeli government.
a) The resolution is in blatant violation of the UN charter and international law. It fails to acknoweldge that Israel has launched an all out war on Lebanon in violation of international law. It describes the bombing and destruction of an entire country as as a “conflict between Hizbollah and Israel”. The word “war” does not appear in the text of the Resolution.
b) Referring to the two abducted Israeli soldiers, the Resolution states that Hizbollah was responsible for launching “the attack on Israel on 12 July”. It denies the fact, amply documented, that an all out war against Lebanon had been in the planning stages well before July 12.
c) The historical causes of the war are denied. The abduction of the two Israeli soldiers on July 12, is presented as a just cause for Israeli retaliation.
d) The resolution does not acknowledge the extensive war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel against the people of Lebanon. In this regard, Israel is indelibly responsible for “Crimes against Peace” as defined in Article 6a of the Nuremberg Charter: for “the planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties“. Israel is also responsible for “War Crimes” under Article 6b of the Nuremberg Charter .through the “plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity;” (Art. 6b). It is responsible for “Crimes against Humanity” through the perpetration of acts of : “murder,… and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war…” (Article 6c).
e) The Resolution does not acknowledge another important dimension. Israel is in violation of the Geneva Convention by deliberately preventing the flow of humanitarian aid to the war zone: Article 15 of the Geneva Convention states in this regard that “parties to the conflict shall, without delay, take all possible measures to search for and collect the wounded and sick,…”
f) In practice, Lebanon’s Sovereignty is in jeopardy. There is nothing in Resolution 1701 which requires Israel to immediately and unconditonally withdraw its troops. The Security Council acknowledges the government of Lebanon’s “request” for withdrawal of Israeli forces and it “calls upon the government of Israel” to withdraw its troops once a UN mandated international force is in place in Southern Lebanon:
“Calls for a full cessation of hostilities based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations;
Upon full cessation of hostilities, calls upon the government of Lebanon and Unifil as authorised by paragraph 11 to deploy their forces together throughout the South and calls upon the government of Israel, as that deployment begins, to withdraw all of its forces from southern Lebanon in parallel;”
g) Israel signed a military cooperation agreement with NATO in 2005. It has a longstanding military alliance with Turkey. Also in 2005, Israel signed a military cooperation agreement under NATO auspices entitled the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) with several frontline Arab states including Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Algeria. If troops are dispatched from NATO countries, in all likelihood they will serve the interests of Israel under the terms of the NATO-Israeli military cooperation agreement.
h) The resolution implies the disarmament of Hizbollah, although the condition is not explicitly stated.
i) The draft of Resolution 1701 was prepared in close consultation with the Israeli government, which is responsible for extensive war crimes.
j) The adoption of Security Council Resolution 1701 doesnot override or erase the fact that Israel has violated international law and has committed extensive crimes (Article 6 of Nuremberg Charter).
k) The UN system is potentially in jeopardy: The United Nation’s highest body has not only failed to acknowledge the existence of pervasive war crimes in violation of the UN charter, it has also acted in the interests of the Israeli government which has ordered these war crimes.
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