United Nations officials have asked the Lebanese government for permission to station an international force on the border with Syria. The force’s task would be to prevent weapons smuggling from Syria to the terrorist group Hizbullah. The force would not be armed.

The UN agreed to uphold a weapons embargo on Hizbullah as a condition for the end of the war between Israel and Hizbullah in August 2006. However, the embargo has not yet been enforced, mainly due to objections from Syria and Hizbullah.

Israeli intelligence officials have repeatedly warned that Hizbullah is receiving frequent arms shipments from Syria. If the shipments are not stopped, officials warned, Hizbullah may return to its pre-war military capacity by May of this year.