Government spokesman Mark Regev said Iran and Syria were still providing Hizbullah with arms in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 which ended the summer 2006 war between Israel and the Shiite group.

Haaretz newspaper quoted a senior Israeli military source as saying Syria has "taken a strategic and clear decision to transfer all the weaponry in its possession to Hizbullah."

The source said UNIFIL "remains idle with regard to this issue for fear of entering Shiite villages."

Meanwhile, Israel's ambassador to the U.N. Gabriela Shalev told the Security Council that southern Lebanon "is occupied by terrorism."

She stressed that Hizbullah continued to build up weapons and military infrastructure in the midst of the civilian population, openly threatening UNIFIL and obstructing the mission's mandate.