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Security Council Distr.: General 13 March 2019

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Security Council Distr.: General 13 March 2019 United Nations S/2019/234 Security Council Distr.: General 13 March 2019 Original: English Identical letters dated 13 March 2019 from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council With great urgency, I write to inform you of the current situation on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights and in the area of separation. This morning, the Israel Defense Forces exposed the vast Hezbollah terror network positioned in these areas. Since the summer of 2018, the Israel Defense Forces have continued to collect intelligence, observing a shift in Hezbollah’s activities in the Golan Heights. As the Syrian civil war has subsided in this region and the Syrian armed forces have returned, Hezbollah has seized the opportunity to establish a Syrian terror front from whic h to attack Israel. Hezbollah’s Syrian terror network ranges from the town of Hader, at the northern end of the Golan Heights, to the towns of Arneh and Khan Arnabeh and to Quneitra, a town that lies within the area of separation. The terror network is fo cused currently on reconnaissance, intelligence-gathering and familiarizing itself with the surrounding area. These efforts, however, comprise merely the backdrop of a larger and more dangerous Hezbollah terror operation to attack Israel. Hezbollah’s Syrian terror network is exploiting the civilian population that lies in closest proximity to the Israeli border and is using the Syrian armed forces observation point in the area as an outpost for this terror operation. To lead this operation, Hezbollah has appointed its own Ali Musa Daqduq. A member of Hezbollah since 1983, Daqduq acted as head of operations for the terror organization’s Iraqi branch. In this role, Daqduq led an attack on American forces in the Karbala Governorate that resulted in the abduction and execution of five American soldiers on 20 January 2007. This past summer, Hezbollah sent Daqduq to Syria to establish the latest terror network. Israel continues to monitor Hezbollah’s activities in the Golan Heights and holds the Syrian regime solely accountable for any and all acts carried out by Hezbollah from its territory. The Syrian regime must fully implement the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement between Israeli and Syrian Forces. Israel also holds the Syrian regime entirely responsible for any and all acts connected with or carried out or sponsored by the Iranian regime from its territory. Israel will not turn a blind eye to the transformation of Syria and Lebanon into a military front against Israel and will respond to this aggression. I call on the Security Council to condemn these activities that continue to destabilize the region. 19-04198 (E) 150319 *1904198* S/2019/234 In the light of the evidence compiled on Hezbollah’s terror activities in the region and beyond, I also call on the Security Council, once again, to designate Hezbollah in its entirety, and with no distinction between so-called “wings”, as a terrorist organization. I should be grateful if you would have the present letter distributed as a document of the Security Council. (Signed) Danny Danon Ambassador Permanent Representative 2/2 19-04198 .
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