THE Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danonpointed out yesterday at Security Council that he cannot rule out new operations against the Lebanese movement Hezbollah.

“We will not allow Hezbollah to continue its provocations. Its actions violate international law and Israel will defend itself,” Mr. Danon said.

He said that since October 8, when Hezbollah opened a front on the Lebanon-Israel border to support its ally, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, its fighters have fired more than 8,000 rockets at his country. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands displaced in northern Israel, it said.

Even Mr. Danon criticized him Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib because he did not mention the name of Hezbollah’s leader, the Hassan Nasrallah. “Instead of blaming us, our peaceful neighbors,” he quipped, “you should be taking action now to contain Hezbollah.” He also complained that you “allowed” a “terrorist organization to create a state within a state”.

“We know that the real problem is not Lebanon, the real problem is Hezbollah,” he continued and said that he offered to “sit down (…) and find a compromise solution of some kind.”

“If you continue to ignore Hezbollah’s aggression, you will be responsible for the suffering of the Lebanese people,” he added, assuring that his government does not want a “wider war” but to “protect” its citizens.

Also asked by the press about the attacks in Lebanon using buzzers and radios that were rigged with explosives, Mr. Danon said he did not want to comment. “But I can tell you that we will do everything we can to target these terrorists,” he added.

Earlier, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Habib called on the Security Council to “force Israel to stop” the attacks on his country, warning that otherwise there would be a “big explosion” in the region, from which “you must understand that it will not escape neither the West, nor the East — will take us back to the Middle Ages.’