The tunnels found along Lebanon’s southern border are not new and have been there “for years,” General Security head Abbas Ibrahim said in an interview published Monday in the agency’s monthly magazine.
Ibrahim said he has informed UNIFIL, the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in Lebanon, that the tunnels - which Israel in December alleged had been built by Hezbollah - were years old, though he did not say in the interview who had built them.
He said General Security has also told UNIFIL that it was ready to investigate the tunnels if Israel provides their coordinates, but the security agency "hasn't received anything yet."
Since Israel launched “Operation Northern Shield” to find and block the alleged “Hezbollah attack tunnels,” UNIFIL has confirmed the existence of at least four tunnels close to the Blue Line in northern Israel, but has made no comment on who had dug them.
Israel later brought the allegations to the U.N. Security Council, which Ibrahim said was an attempt to alter UNIFIL's primary mission, a goal he believed would be “impossible” to achieve.
While the General Security head ruled out the possibility of war, saying Lebanon had no desire for it, he said the country was still prepared.
Israel, however, wants war - though it is neither ready nor able to engage, according to Ibrahim.
Ibrahim also said in the interview, which reviewed General Security’s activities throughout 2018, that the threat of terrorism, whether from Israel or Islamist militants, had largely retreated over the past year, although he admitted their existence was still possible.
General Security’s operations in 2018 could be characterized by administrative clean-up and renewal, Ibrahim said, especially with the launch of its "Vision 2021," which aims to create a paperless security service, beginning with issuing paperless visas.
Another goal for the future will be making General Security services more accessible. In 2018, General Security opened 46 new centers, and Ibrahim is aspiring to open one in every village in Lebanon, “especially in the most remote areas.”
This article has been adapted from its original source.
