Hezbollah bribed UN personnel in Lebanon to facilitate its attacks on Israel

Hezbollah bribed personnel of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to use its positions in the Arab country to attack Israel, members of the Lebanese terrorist group testified during interrogations by Israeli forces, according to a report by Israel Hayom.

The Israeli media outlet spoke to security sources in the Jewish state who said the terrorists who made the statements were captured by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during its operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

According to sources, the terrorists who were interrogated further claimed that Hezbollah used UNIFIL cameras located near the border with Israel.

Israel Hayom added that as a result of these events and UNIFIL's failure to prevent the establishment of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, as indicated by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, Israel plans to base any agreement with the Arab country on commitments made by the Lebanese military and not U.N. peacekeepers.

UNIFIL hinders Israeli offensive against Hezbollah

This follows a series of incidents that occurred in the region due to UNIFIL interfering with the IDF's anti-terror offensive to stop Hezbollah's attacks on Israeli territory.

Because Hezbollah's attacks have not stopped since Oct. 8, 2023, one day after the massacre perpetrated by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups in southern Israel, some 100,000 Israelis were forced to flee their homes. Jewish state forces entered Lebanon on Oct. 1 in order to launch an offensive against the terrorists who, as mentioned, UNIFIL has allowed to deploy in southern Lebanese territory, stockpile weapons and build a network of tunnels.

One of these tunnels was found by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) about 300 feet from an UNIFIL position.

Israel has repeatedly asked the U.N. peacekeeping force to withdraw its soldiers some 3 miles northward to prevent them from being harmed in battles against Hezbollah terrorists, but the U.N. has refused to do so, thus hindering Israeli operations in the region and endangering UNIFIL's own forces.

In an editorial article, The Wall Street Journal quoted some of the complaints made by U.N. peacekeepers following a series of incidents that occurred since the IDF began its ground incursion into southern Lebanon.

On one occasion, they protested the presence of Israeli troops near one of their positions. Then they expressed anger over a series of explosions near an observation tower that slightly injured two of their soldiers. They were also upset because, they claimed, Israeli tanks had entered through one of their gates. They expressed that smoke from several rounds of gunfire that occurred near their positions caused skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions among their troops.

While these situations are regrettable, the truth is that they are happening in the midst of an area of heavy fighting and, as mentioned, one that Israel requested UNIFIL forces to move away from.

These incidents have not only provoked the repudiation of the U.N., but also of the European Union (E.U.), while a large number of media outlets have covered the matter as an Israeli attack on UNIFIL, as if these were intentional offensives against U.N. peacekeepers in the region. However, there was no condemnation of the Hezbollah attacks that provoked the Israeli incursion into the area.