Israeli envoy says int'l support for Lebanon must not depend on 'empty statements'

Ambassador Danny Danon said it’s impossible to talk about peace in Lebanon without mentioning Hezbollah.

“Hezbollah is not just set on Israel’s destruction. It is Lebanon’s greatest obstacle to sovereignty. It has weakened the Lebanese government,” he told a ministerial meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

Lebanon’s government has demanded that Hezbollah disarm, but Israel says this has not happened. A ceasefire in the latest Israeli-Hezbollah conflict was recently extended for three weeks.

Danon said that if the U.N. Security Council wants to help Lebanon, it should ask the government how many Hezbollah weapons it has seized, “which tunnels have been destroyed and what is being done to stop arms smuggling from Iran.”

“International support for Lebanon must depend on results on the ground and not more empty statements,” Danon said.