The United Nations Security Council passed UN Resolution 1701 on August 11th calling for the cessations of all hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. While not explicitly stating that Hezbollah disarm, it does imply it, according to the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

The resolution calls for Israel to stop "all offensive military operations" without defining what that means or making a comparable disarmament demand on the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). It leaves the option open for Israel to respond if, in its judgment, it faces what it believes is an imminent threat.

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There is no timetable for Israeli withdraw from Lebanon, but does call on the government of Israel to do so once a UN mandated force is in place. The center says this resolution gives Israel what they wanted: more time for the IDF to continue its assault by air and to try on the ground to seize more territory so when both sides agree to halt hostilities.

The CRG says that this whole conflict may have been started by Israel. Although an early Associated Press report said the two Israeli soldiers were captured in southern Lebanon and not northern Israel, this goes in the face of many other early reports. It is possible the soldiers were captured (and not kidnapped) when the IDF crossed the border into Lebanon. The CRG says this is “something the IDF routinely has done almost daily since it withdrew from the country in May, 2000.”

The Center makes more comments concerning the resolution including: “It absolves Israel of any responsibility by failing to acknowledge it's been waging a war of illegal aggression against the country and thus, according to the Nuremberg Charter, is guilty of the "supreme international crime" which convicted Nazis after WW II were hanged for.” Stephen Lendman says the resolution never even mentions the word “war”.

The CRG report by Stephen Lendman goes on to say that resolution allows Israel the right to resume hostilities any time it wishes and for any reason so long as the Israelis claim an imminent threat exists regardless of whether or not it's true.

By Tom Madison