Netanyahu Tells Guterres Iran Building Missile Sites in Lebanon, Syria
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted visiting U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday with blistering criticism of the international body's treatment of Israel and accusing it of failing to prevent arms from being smuggled to Lebanon's Hizbullah.
Netanyahu also claimed that Iran is building sites in Syria and Lebanon for the manufacture of "precision-guided missiles," with the aim of deploying them against Israel.
Both Hizbullah fighters and Iran have backed President Bashar Assad's government forces in the civil war that has ravaged Syria.
"Iran is busy turning Syria into a base of military entrenchment, and it wants to use Syria and Lebanon as warfronts against its declared goal to eradicate Israel," Netanyahu said. "This is something Israel cannot accept. This is something the U.N. should not accept."
The Israeli leader offered no specifics to support his allegations.
Guterres arrived on Sunday for a three-day visit to the region, his first since taking office at the beginning of the year. His meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders are aimed at encouraging the resumption of peace talks.
Speaking at a joint press conference with the U.N. chief, Netanyahu criticized the United Nations, saying that it fails to check Palestinian hate speech, "absurdly denies" Jewish connections to Jerusalem and has not stopped arms from reaching Hizbullah in Lebanon.
Guterres vowed that he will "do everything in my capacity" to ensure the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, fulfills its obligations. The U.N. peacekeeping force's mandate is up for renewal at the end of the month and Israel is pressing for the force to have an increased presence to better monitor and prevent what Israel says is Hizbullah building up its weapons.
"I understand the security concerns of Israel and I repeat that the idea or the intention or the will to destroy the state of Israel is something totally unacceptable from my perspective," the U.N. chief said.
