US officials have reportedly begun discussing the possibility of seeking the dissolution of the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, a move that comes amid a ceasefire that sees multiple violations on a daily basis.
They emphasized that no decision has yet been made. The measure is being countenanced as seeking cost-savings and defunding UNIFIL, but the US is also reported to be demanding “major reforms,” and holding out the possibility of using their veto power at the UN Security Council to forcibly dissolve the mission entirely when it comes up for renewal in August.
One country is on board with this idea at least, and that’s Israel. Israel is almost perpetually running afoul of peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, what with their constant attacking of southern Lebanon, and having them out of there likely would reduce international attention for their flouting of the ceasefire.
IDF troops attacked UNIFIL personnel several times during last year’s Lebanon war. Since the ceasefire went into effect in late November, the attacks haven’t stopped, with Israel firing on UNIFIL troops every time they think there’s some diplomatic point to prove. Last month, UNIFIL troops discovered an Israeli spying device planted on the Lebanese side of the border, and when they moved closer to investigate, the IDF drove them off by firing at them.
France, a substantial contributor to UNIFIL as well, has criticized Israel for its attacks on the peacekeepers, and also suggested bolstering the mission earlier in the ceasefire, though that proposal was shot down by both Israel and the US.
When Israel attacks and kills anyone in southern Lebanon, it is pro forma for them to claim the victim was a top-ranking Hezbollah commander of some form or another, even though there is rarely evidence to support that.
That tactic is effectively impossible, however, when they attack a group of French or Malaysian peacekeepers wearing UN uniforms. Subsequently, getting UNIFIL out of Lebanon would free up Israel to attack the area even more indiscriminately than they already do.
The UNIFIL mandate is to ensure that Hezbollah relocates north of the Litani River. Right now the Israeli narrative is that they haven’t done so, though Hezbollah has not fired any rockets at Israel from anywhere in Lebanon since the ceasefire began, and the only signs of any Hezbollah activity south of the river is when Israel kills someone on a motorcycle and posthumously declares him a Hezbollah operative.
