'Hezbollah Has Always Fired From UN Positions'
Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Correspondent Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Israel accuses Hezbollah of using United Nations observer posts in southern Lebanon as cover for attacks on northern Israel, and an increasing number of former UN peacekeepers are corroborating that claim. A former UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) company sergeant from Ireland told The Media Line troops deployed to the region feel great frustration by their inability to prevent the Hezbollah provocation and Israel's inevitable deadly response. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the now retired soldier, who finished his tour in Lebanon in 2004, said, "Hezbollah were firing from beside the UNIFIL positions for 20 years. There's nothing new in that." The real frustration, he said, stems from the fact that UNIFIL's rules of engagement leave the peacekeepers powerless to confront Hezbollah. "Frustrating? That's an understatement. You ask any soldier in any army in the world, if they are fired on or fired over, to sit there and watch it day after day, or hour after hour. And you're told you can't fire," he said. Israel demands that as a prerequisite to ending the current crisis, UNIFIL either be beefed up or replaced by a multi-national force with a full mandate to actually enforce peace.
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