LONDON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of maintaining a “secret arms depot” in a residential neighborhood of Beirut, warning it could cause another tragic explosion in the Lebanese capital.
In an address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Netanyahu showed maps purportedly showing the missile depot’s location next to a gas station and residential housing. He also showed what he said was a picture of the entrance to the depot.
“Here’s where the next explosion will take place, right here,” he said.
Addressing the Lebanese people, he said: “You’ve got to act now, you’ve got to protest this, because if this thing explodes, it’s another tragedy. ... You should tell them, ‘Tear these depots down.’”
Last month, a warehouse filled with nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut’s port, killing nearly 200 people, wounding thousands and causing widespread destruction in the capital. The ammonium nitrate had been stored there for several years.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the UN General Assembly:
"Israel and states across the Arab world not only stand together in advancing peace. We stand together in confronting the greatest enemy of peace in the Middle East—Iran."#UNGA #UNGA75 pic.twitter.com/vrCIOoUfkt— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 29, 2020
No one has yet been held accountable for the blast, which appears to have been triggered by an accidental fire.
Netanyahu said Israel and states across the Arab world “not only stand together in advancing peace, we stand together in confronting the greatest enemy of peace in the Middle East — Iran.”
We all saw the terrible explosion at Beirut port last month that affected a quarter of a million people.
Here are the actual coordinates of where the next explosion could take place - the Beirut neighborhood of Janah. pic.twitter.com/fCpcgrThR8
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) September 29, 2020
He told world leaders that Iran repeatedly attacks its neighbors and its terror proxies are directly involved in violence throughout the Middle East, including in Iraq, Syria, Yemen Gaza and Lebanon.
He told the people of Lebanon that “Israel means you no harm, but Iran does,” and that “Iran and Hezbollah have deliberately put you and your families in grave danger.”
Finally, Netanyahu said “both Arabs and Israeli are urging tough action on Iran, and when Arabs and Israelis agree, other should pay attention.”
(With AP)
