French Maj.-Gen. Alain Pellegrini, whom IDF officers said was pro-Hizbullah, steps down in mid-February after three years in the post.
IDF sources said his replacement, Gen. Graziano, "takes his job seriously and we expect to see a continued crackdown on Hizbullah under his command."
Graziano commanded NATO's Kabul Multinational Brigade and has extensive experience in combating insurgency and terrorism. Northern Command sources also praised UNIFIL's 2,500-strong Italian contingent, saying it was working to prevent Hizbullah from returning to its outposts on the border.
The UNIFIL troops and the 14,000 Lebanese soldiers stationed in the region add up to a total of around 20,000 troops in the 18-by 31-mile region of southern Lebanon.
Syria is still smuggling arms to the Hizbullah and neither the Lebanese army nor UNIFIL have expressed any intention of preventing the terrorist organization’s efforts to re-arm - a direct violation of the ceasefire terms outlined in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
Hizbullah terrorists are also still free to roam at night without fear of being identified by the UNIFIL soldiers, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported two months ago.
Spanish UNIFIL official Richard Ortax admitted to the magazine that no patrols are carried out at night “because of the danger involved.” UNIFIL commanders said their function is to "observe changes in the behavior of the local population."
Most recently, Hizbullah terrorists tried to bomb the UNIFIL soldiers after a Spanish contingent discovered a large weapons stockpile late last month.
IDF Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz said that Hizbullah planted bombs around the weapons so that they would explode when the UNIFIL soldiers came to destroy them. The Spanish troops discovered the bombs and no one was injured.
IDF sources said his replacement, Gen. Graziano, "takes his job seriously and we expect to see a continued crackdown on Hizbullah under his command."
Graziano commanded NATO's Kabul Multinational Brigade and has extensive experience in combating insurgency and terrorism. Northern Command sources also praised UNIFIL's 2,500-strong Italian contingent, saying it was working to prevent Hizbullah from returning to its outposts on the border.
The UNIFIL troops and the 14,000 Lebanese soldiers stationed in the region add up to a total of around 20,000 troops in the 18-by 31-mile region of southern Lebanon.
Syria is still smuggling arms to the Hizbullah and neither the Lebanese army nor UNIFIL have expressed any intention of preventing the terrorist organization’s efforts to re-arm - a direct violation of the ceasefire terms outlined in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
Hizbullah terrorists are also still free to roam at night without fear of being identified by the UNIFIL soldiers, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported two months ago.
Spanish UNIFIL official Richard Ortax admitted to the magazine that no patrols are carried out at night “because of the danger involved.” UNIFIL commanders said their function is to "observe changes in the behavior of the local population."
Most recently, Hizbullah terrorists tried to bomb the UNIFIL soldiers after a Spanish contingent discovered a large weapons stockpile late last month.
IDF Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz said that Hizbullah planted bombs around the weapons so that they would explode when the UNIFIL soldiers came to destroy them. The Spanish troops discovered the bombs and no one was injured.