UN Security Council poised to vote on Lebanese peacekeepers

The United Nations Security Council is set to vote on August 25th to decide whether to uphold the blue helmet peacekeeping missing in south Lebanon, according to Asharq Al-Awsat via AFP.

The Council will vote upon a France-drafted resolution that seeks to keep the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), who were first deployed in southern Lebanon in 1978 to keep Lebanon and Israel apart.

The resolution would keep UNIFIL deployed in the region until August 31st 2026.

Since the November truce that ended the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah military group, Beirut’s army has been deployed in southern Lebanon. The army has been tasked with dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure throughout the region.

According to the latest draft text seen by AFP, the council seeks to “work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL with the aim of making the Lebanese Government the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon.”

The draft text also “indicates its intention to work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL.”

Both Israel and the US have opposed the resolution. The US holds veto power on the UN Security Council and has remained silent on council discussions when questioned by AFP.

The draft also condemned “the incidents that affected United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon premises and forces, injuring several peacekeepers.” Yet there was no reference to Israel.

The terms of the November truce state Israel needs to remove military forces from Lebanese territory – but it has failed to do so. Israel has kept troops in five points, for strategic reasons, and has continued to launch strikes on Lebanon.

Hezbollah has threatened retaliation over Israel’s continuous breaches of the ceasefire.

A senior UN official has warned that “to completely eliminate [UNIFIL’s] capacity at this point, or very quickly, would not serve anybody in the region.”

According to the official, UNIFIL has helped deploy 8,300 Lebanese armed forces to 120 areas.

As the the UN security council’s vote edges closer, the outcome could ultimately determine the future of peace in Lebanon.

Asharq Al-Awsat via AFP, Maghrebi.org