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Israel Has Every Right to Defend Its Borders
(Telegraph-UK) Editorial - The 2006 Israel-Hizbullah war ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire. Security Council Resolution 1701 called for militias, including Hizbullah, to be disarmed and removed from areas south of the Litani River, about 18 miles north of the border. The resolution emphasized the need for the Lebanese government to exert control in their own country. Needless to say, none of this happened. The area south of the Litani is now bristling with ordnance provided to Hizbullah by Iran. Israel justifiably points out that the last time they agreed to a ceasefire, the terms were broken. In 2006, Hizbullah had no intention of observing the deal any more than it has of doing so now. The question the international community needs to address is what is Israel supposed to do if enemies on its borders continue to fire missiles into its towns and villages? The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is utterly ineffectual as a barrier to Hizbullah's authority in southern Lebanon. Without guarantees that Hizbullah will stop firing missiles into northern Israel, where 80,000 residents have been displaced, it is hard to see the conflict abating.