Israel Warns Hezbollah Rearming Out of Reach

An Israeli policeman inspects a building lightly damaged by a Katyusha-style rocket fired by Hezbollah from southern Lebanon, in the costal town of Nahariya in July 2006. (AFP/File/Denis Sinyakov)

27 August 2007

JERUSALEM (AFP) -Israel Defence Minister Ehud Barak warned on Monday that Hezbollah is rearming out of reach of UN peacekeepers following last year's war between the Jewish state and the Shiite guerrillas.

"Hezbollah is continuing its rearmament process. Hezbollah today has more medium- and long-range rockets than it had before the start of the war," a Barak aide quoted the minister as telling lawmakers behind closed doors.

"It has also obtained a considerable number of anti-tank rockets," of the kind that proved deadly against Israeli tanks during the 34-day war.

An MP at parliament's defence and foreign affairs committee meeting, before which Barak testified, quoted the minister as saying the rearmament was taking place out of reach of the UNIFIL force based in southern Lebanon.

"Hezbollah's new arsenal is located north of the Litani (river) and south of the Zahrani river," the lawmaker told reporters standing outside.

The UN peacekeeping force, only deployed south of the Litani, mainly monitors the separation of forces following the war, helps Lebanon's armed forces deploy in the border area and ensures aid reaches civilians.