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**Title**: Hezbollah Threat to Israel: UN Security Council Resolution 1701 Fails to Deliver

**Sapo**: Despite the existence of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which was intended to disarm Hezbollah and push it back from Israel's border, Hezbollah has rearmed itself and remains a significant threat. Experts believe the resolution has failed to prevent a third Lebanon War, which is now on the horizon.

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Nearly nine months of mounting tension between Israel and Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon reached a boiling point this week when the U.S.-designated terror organization fired hundreds of missiles and rockets into northern Israel, prompting Israeli airstrikes deep inside Lebanon.

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Amid widespread damage and destruction on both sides of the border, leaders ramped up the rhetoric, with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatening an invasion of the Galilee and Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz vowing to "change the rules of the game" against Hezbollah and Lebanon. The escalating tensions come close to the 18th anniversary of the previous round of fighting, despite the existence of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which sought to preserve calm in the area and provide an international military force to keep the peace.

However, analysts and experts maintain that Resolution 1701 has had the opposite effect, with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) failing to prevent Hezbollah from rearming itself. Some estimates suggest Hezbollah may have acquired as many as 150,000 missiles and rockets since the resolution was passed.

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Jonathan Conricus, a former Israeli military liaison with UNIFIL and the army's special representative to the U.N., believes the resolution "failed to prevent the military buildup of Hezbollah and it failed to prevent the conditions for a third Lebanon War, which we now see unfolding." He argues that the resolution's security architecture and implementation have been a complete failure, putting the region at risk for a severe war.

Conricus alleges that Hezbollah has used a combination of "soft" and "hard" power, including targeting peacekeepers, to render UNIFIL ineffective in preventing its mounting violations. This has led to a distorted picture of reality on the ground, concealing Hezbollah's activities.

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Over the years, Israeli military intelligence and local residents have warned that Hezbollah was rearming and moving closer to the border, placing observation posts and flags in clear sight of Israeli communities and army bases. Fearing a similar attack to that perpetrated by Hamas in October, Israeli authorities evacuated 80,000 residents from the border with Lebanon.

The escalating fighting has reportedly damaged or destroyed around 1,700 homes in southern Lebanon, forcing many civilians to evacuate further north. The U.N. has expressed concern about the potential for a wider conflict and has called for a ceasefire.

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However, the UNIFIL has been criticized for its failure to fulfill its mandate. A former member of the peacekeeping force, speaking anonymously, confirmed that UNIFIL was not there to fight and had never interfered with Hezbollah over the past 18 years. They even reduced patrols along the border to avoid confrontation.

An Israeli official, speaking anonymously, stated that Israel welcomed the presence of an international peacekeeping force but that the U.N. resolution had never been properly implemented. Hezbollah has been allowed to rearm from day one, and the official blamed the U.N. for ignoring Hezbollah's actions.

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Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence for Le Beck, maintains that the resolution has failed since it called for an area free of armed personnel and weapons other than the Lebanese army and UNIFIL, a requirement that has never been met. Hezbollah has entrenched its presence in southern Lebanon, despite the resolution.

Dr. Eyal Pinko, a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, believes the relative quiet on the border over the past 18 years is due to external factors, not the resolution or UNIFIL. He points to Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian civil war and economic challenges, which have diverted its attention from conflict with Israel.

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Despite the peace efforts of President Biden's Special Envoy Amos Hochstein, the situation remains serious. Hochstein believes a diplomatic solution can prevent further escalation into a greater war. However, Jonathan Schanzer from the FDD believes Resolution 1701 has only reinforced the absurdity of the U.N. and its inability to broker peace in the Middle East. He argues that Hezbollah's continued operations in southern Lebanon and its acquisition of advanced weapons indicate the failure of the system.