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Hezbollah Has Violated a Major UN Resolution Since October — and No One Cares
Members of the United Nations Security Council meet on the day of a vote on a Gaza resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan leading to a permanent ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, March 25, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Following the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1701, at the time perceived as a strongly worded document.
It was aimed at not just maintaining the ceasefire, but at strengthening the hands of the government in Beirut by endorsing and calling for the central government to assert control over the entire country.
However, for the most part, Resolution 1701 has reflected the toothless inability of the international body to take those words and effectively implement them on the ground.
The 2006 war was not between two countries, but between Israel and the terrorist Hezbollah organization, headed by Hassan Nasrallah.
Hezbollah is funded, trained, and armed by Iran. The terrorist group is not under the control of the Lebanese government and is not part of the Lebanese Armed Forces, and thus considers itself not obligated at all to the document. Its terrorist activities have been documented for years.
Resolution 1701: In Its Own Words
Two paragraphs in the UNSC resolution appeared to have been directly aimed at Hezbollah [emphasis added]:
“security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL …”
“full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and of (UNSC) resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of 27 July 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese State.”
In short, Resolution 1701 calls for the disarming of Hezbollah and the deployment of the Lebanese army to exert sovereignty — especially in the south of the country along the Lebanon-Israel border. That area is monitored by UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon, which is tasked with monitoring the area, and whose heavy presence was intended to dissuade militias.
Resolution 1701: The Shortcomings
In practice, the Resolution proved to be toothless. At the time, experts at the respected Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv concluded that Resolution 1701 “provides no effective mechanism for action to disarm Hezbollah or terminate its existence as a state within a state.”
Analyst Aiman Mansour noted that Hezbollah and Nasrallah were not affected by 1701, which created “a situation in which Lebanon after the campaign is little different from Lebanon before it … it does not create any framework that can threaten Hezbollah’s existence or ongoing terrorist activity.”
Thirteen years after Resolution 1701 was passed, Hezbollah is not only armed, but its weapons inventory has been greatly increased and it remains fully deployed south of the Litani River — as if the UN Security Council Resolution never happened.
Estimates put Hezbollah’s rocket and missile inventory at more than 130,000 — enough to theoretically fire 1,000 rockets a day at Israel for more than four months straight.
Iran’s Covert Scheme to Upgrade Hezbollah’s Rocket Arsenal Revealedhttps://t.co/C785TvrTkz pic.twitter.com/O6KiNGJRRi
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) February 28, 2019
UNIFIL was created in 1978, ostensibly to help the Lebanese government assert sovereignty over the south of the country that had been controlled by armed militias. The UN forks out almost half a billion dollars annually to operate the peacekeeping force. As of August 2019, UNIFIL consisted of 10,277 peacekeepers from 44 troop-contributing countries, while Hezbollah is estimated to have 21,000 active fighters.
Powerless Peacekeepers
Since 2006, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has deployed units in the south, but military control of the area is firmly in Hezbollah’s grasp.
Hezbollah operates under UNIFIL’s nose and it is the de facto force controlling the area along the entire length of the Lebanon-Israel border. Indeed, bright yellow Hezbollah flags dominate over the Lebanese national flag.
Aside from a number of cross-border missile and gunfire skirmishes, as well as the Hezbollah attack that sparked the 2006 war, the most blatant example of UNIFIL’s weakness was the numerous cross border attack tunnels dug by Hezbollah into Israeli territory. The goal of the tunnels, which were revealed in 2018, was to wreak havoc in Israel: capture and kill Israeli civilians and soldiers, and yet somehow avoid an all-out war which would be catastrophic to Lebanon and damaging to Israel (though that calculus may have changed after October 7).
Although UNIFIL recognized that the tunnels were a “violation of the cease-fire agreement,” the UN peacekeepers were powerless to take any action.
“UNIFIL’s insistent requests to the Lebanese authorities to take immediate further action in this regard were left unanswered, and UNIFIL’s access to the site continues to be prevented by the Lebanese Armed Forces, despite repeated requests,” the Security Council said in a report afterwards.
UNIFIL peacekeepers patrolling in Southern Lebanon.
The UN is generally known for its patience, with diplomats doing their jobs to negotiate, seek compromise, and work towards consensus-oriented solutions. However, that patience sometimes wears thin, especially when the United States is involved.
At the annual renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate in 2019, the US delegation voted with the other UNSC members to keep UNIFIL going for another year, but noted that UNIFIL has been prevented from accessing Hezbollah’s tunnels.
“Given that UNIFIL cannot fulfill a task within its mandate, it’s time to re-examine the Force’s troop strength and resource efficiency,” the Americans said.
Lebanese Frustration
Frustration with Resolution 1701 is also apparent with some parties inside Lebanon, whose fractious and fragile government coalition of Sunnis, Shiites, Christians, and Druze has been unable to reign in Lebanese militias — most notably Hezbollah and Nasrallah — to fulfill the resolution’s mandate “that there will be no weapons without the consent of the Government of Lebanon and no authority other than that of the Government of Lebanon.”
“Resolution 1701 has not been respected since 2006 and is being violated on a daily basis, whether by Israel, through its air and sea breaches of Lebanese sovereignty, or by Hezbollah, and its claim that it is charged, alone, with the task of defending Lebanon,” said retired Lebanese Brig. Gen. Khaled Hamade, the former director the Strategic Research & Studies Centre of the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Since then, Hezbollah has become so powerful, that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri admitted that Lebanon can’t rein in Hezbollah and disavowed responsibility. The dangers inherent in the failure to implement the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 are obvious. Hezbollah, a recognized terrorist organization, continues to be armed and directed by Iran. There is no international pressure to force Hezbollah to drop its policy of being a state-within-a-state, with its own large, dangerously-armed private army.
Despite its positive-sounding intentions, Resolution 1701 is an abject failure. Hezbollah has no incentive to change its central ideologies and policies, which mimic Iran’s repeatedly stated national goal for the “full annihilation of Israel.”
Paul Shindman has a long career in both journalism and high-tech in Israel, most recently serving as head of research and content for The Israel Project. He rose to the position of Bureau Chief in charge of operations for United Press International in Jerusalem, and has done production work for TV news networks as well as stringing and blogging for various newspapers, magazines, and websites. With a background in engineering and computing Paul worked at Israeli tech companies ranging from startups to multi-nationals. His first job in Israel was working at Israel’s first ice skating rinks and he is the founder of Israel’s national ice sports associations.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Hezbollah Has Violated a Major UN Resolution Since October — and No One Cares first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
The post Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.