The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, expressed concern about the "status quo" in southern Lebanon prevailing between Israel and Lebanon, during a briefing on the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701 at the United Nations Security Council on Monday. She met last week with Israeli officials and then Lebanese officials as part of a tour through the two countries.

"We urgently need diplomatic and political discussions capable of paving the way for full implementation of Resolution 1701," she said, warning that the status quo, "partly fueled by differing interpretations of the November agreement and Resolution 1701, or by selective application of their provisions, would only lead to a new conflagration," according to a United Nations statement.

A divergence particularly exists between Israel and Lebanon regarding whether Hezbollah should be disarmed across the entire country, as essentially stated in the preamble of the cease-fire agreement, an interpretation supported by Israel, or only in southern Lebanon, as supported by the party and stipulated in several points of the agreement.

Resolution 1701 ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel and serves as a framework for the ceasefire agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel last Nov. 27, aiming to end eleven months of cross-border conflict and two months of open war between the party and Israel.

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'Glimmer of hope'

Hennis-Plasschaert also stated that "the continued presence of the Israeli army on Lebanese territory, as well as ongoing strikes, risks causing serious repercussions on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line."

Since the agreement came into effect, the Israeli army has killed more than 100 Lebanese and regularly conducts targeted strikes on Lebanese territory. Contrary to the agreement's arrangements, which initially provided for the withdrawal of the Israeli army from southern Lebanon on Jan. 26, postponed to Feb. 18 after an extension, the Israeli state's army still occupies at least five positions along the Blue Line. On its side, Israel claims to target violations by Hezbollah seeking to rearm.

Although she mentioned a "climate of fear" on both sides of the Blue Line, Hennis-Plasschaert also noted that "recent progress towards such discussions [to implement Resolution 1701] represented "a glimmer of hope." Israel announced last week the creation of three working groups to address the following three issues: The five points occupied by Israel in southern Lebanon; discussions concerning the positioning of the Blue Line and the remaining contentious points; and finally, Lebanese prisoners held by Israel. Following this decision, Israel released five Lebanese prisoners.

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Hennis-Plasschaert also noted "the admirable work" done by the Lebanese army, which "has been deployed in all the towns and villages of the country's south." She also praised the decision of the Israeli army's Home Front Command, in February, to lift the last restrictions on Israel's northern border. On March 2, residents of northern Israel communities were allowed to return home.

The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon called for "both patience and time" to be given to the new government to carry out its tasks. She finally regretted the lack of international funding for Lebanon, while the final cost of the damages caused by the clashes between Hezbollah and Israel amounted to 14 billion dollars according to the World Bank.

"The failure to initiate the recovery and reconstruction process would come at a high cost," she stated, adding that the "[Lebanese] population needs to see and feel the benefits of stability before they can truly believe in it."

This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.