UN Says Green NGO Not Hezbollah Front

The United Nations has brushed off Israel’s allegation that Hezbollah is using the NGO Green Without Borders as a front for its terrorist activities in southern Lebanon.

“Our UNIFIL colleagues say that this nongovernmental organization has been active in the area for the last two years, and UNIFIL, in cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces, closely monitors all activities close to the Blue Line,” Eri Kaneko, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Secretary-General, was quoted as saying by The Jerusalem Post. 

Contrary to an Israeli intelligence report cited by Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, Kaneko maintained that UNIFIL has not observed any unauthorized armed persons at the location, or found any basis to report a violation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which formally ended the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

According to a letter sent by Danon to the Security Council recently, the so-called NGO had refused entry to members of UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force along the Blue Line, in April.

Danon lamented it as “regrettable that UNIFIL has chosen again to turn the other way as Hezbollah continues to operate in the region.

“This is not an organization that engages environmental protection, but a group that gathers information to assist in terrorist activities,” he charged. “It is time for UNIFIL to fulfill its mandate and ensure that UN Security Council resolutions are implemented.”