New York – The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has condemned the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, for failing to criticize Syria or Iran for attempting to rearm the Lebanese Islamist terrorist group, Hizballah, while criticizing Israel for taking action to prevent it from being re-supplied with Iranian and Syrian weaponry. According to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 (UNSCR 1701), all countries are obliged to prevent the re-supplying of Hizballah with weaponry. However, Annan did not condemn the violations by Hizballah attempting to rearm, or Syria and Iran seeking to re-rearm Hizballah. Instead, Annan criticized Israel for taking action to prevent these weapons reaching Hizballah as constituting a “violation” of the ceasefire which “deeply concerned” him. The statement by Annan’s spokesman also cited the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) as saying there have “also been several air violations by Israeli military aircraft.”

Israel sent highly trained soldiers into Lebanon’s eastern Beka’a Valley to stop Tehran and Damascus from rearming terrorists. Iran and Syria have been shipping Katushyas rockets, AK-47 assault rifles, mortars, anti-tank guns and rocket propelled grenades to southern Lebanon for use against the civilians of northern Israel. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev defended Israel’s operation, saying that Israel won’t accept a “cease-fire in which Hizballah can use that cease-fire just as a timeout to regroup and rearm and prepare for the next round … Israel would not have to do these sort of operations if the international forces and the Lebanese forces were following through on their commitment … preventing these arms shipments for Hizballah” (CNN, August 19).

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “The ZOA condemns Kofi Annan’s blatant bias in criticizing Israel while ignoring the ceasefire violations of Hizballah, Syria and Iran. If proof were needed that Kofi Annan is conducting himself without the impartiality and genuine concern for promoting peace that should be motivating him, his clearly biased statements about Israel and his silence on the actions of Hizballah, Syria and Lebanon provide it. Here we have a clear violation of the ceasefire by Hizballah, Syria and Iran, all trying to reintroduce illegal weaponry into southern Lebanon. It is clearly the duty of Lebanon and UNIFIL to prevent this occurring, yet neither is doing it. In these circumstances, Israel’s actions do not violate UNSCR 1701 but actually seek to enforce it.

“If Kofi Annan were not so biased against Israel, he would be roundly criticizing the violations of the ceasefire blatantly committed by Hizballah, Syria and Iran and supporting Israel’s actions in response. Kofi Annan seems to prefer that Israel sit idly by while a vicious terrorist group rearms and prepares to attack it. He seems only interested in criticizing Israel’s legitimate acts of self-defense while remaining silent about the offensive actions of its enemies which violate the UN’s own ceasefire resolution. This is but the latest example of the disreputable conduct of the UN Secretary-General.”