Ban Ki-moon’s 11th report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 warned that the continuing presence of weapons outside of state control was “a challenge to the ability of the state to exercise its full sovereignty and control over its territory.”

“This process should take place through a Lebanese-led process that will bring the full restoration of the authority of the government of Lebanon over all its territory.” Ban added.

The report concluded that UNIFIL’s jurisdiction south of the Litany River remained “generally stable and the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon continued to hold.”

Opposition politicians rushed on Wednesday to condemn the UN Secretary General’s report calling it “unbalanced” and free of any “practical steps” that could end Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Hezbullah’s bloc MP Ali Fayyad,condemned the report and described it as too lenient on Israeli violations. Fayyad said in a television interview that “ Ban’s report was “unbalanced and doesn’t highlight sufficiently the Israeli aggressions since it doesn’t hold Israel responsible for violating UN Resolution 1701.”

Similarly, MP Yassin Jaber said Ban’s stance had “shocked most of Lebanon since it called for disarming the resistance; There’s no solution to the weapons of the resistance outside of dialogue and political consensus, following the disappearance of Israeli threats.”

MP Jaber reminded Ban that the resistance is a response to Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory, especially when the Israeli state insists on threatening new military action against Lebanon.”