The UN Security Council (UNSC) decided on Friday to extend the mandate for a peacekeeping force in southern Leb
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...by another year, but will reduce the number of troops in the region amid US and Israeli criticism over the mission's efficiency.
The council added several demands from the government of Lebanon to allow UNIFIL to operate more efficiently after efforts from Israel and the US to strengthen to force's authority in the face of Hezbollah activity.
These new demands include: an enhanced reporting mechanism to the UN for
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon, which this year numbered over 11,000 personnel, has acted in southern Lebanon since 1978. As of 2006, it was tasked with monitoring compliance with UN Resolution 1701, which set out the terms of the ceasefire that ended the Second Lebanon war.
"The Security Council decision comes as a last warning for the Government of Lebanon. If Hezbollah continues to turn southern Lebanon into a base for its terrorist activity under UNIFIL’s nose, the Government of Lebanon will be held responsible and will bear full responsibility for any escalation of tensions or the grave consequences of such actions." Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
Gilad Erdan said.
"Israel will not allow terrorist attacks to emanate from Lebanese territory and will respond with force to any such crime. The Government of Lebanon is responsible for what transpires within its territory. In the upcoming months, we will closely watch how UNIFIL’s renewed mandate is implemented and determine whether there is a justification for the force’s presence." Erdan continued.
UNIFIL has come under heavy criticism in recent years from both the US and Israel. The two countries have argued that UNIFIL’s mandate fails to fully empower it to operate as an observer force against Hezbollah.
They are particularly concerned by the mandate’s failure to ensure that UNIFIL can search for terror tunnels that Hezbollah has built along the border to attack Israel.
Israel and the US would like to see the mandate expanded to include, among other things, the ability for UNIFIL to enter homes in southern Lebanon to search for entry ways to tunnels.
Israel in particular has argued that unless UNIFIL is fully empowered, there is little point in maintaining its presence on the border.
The troop ceiling was lowered from 15,000 to 13,000 to meet a key US demand, though one diplomat called that a symbolic change as only 10,500 troops are currently deployed.
The resolution, seen by Rooters, has also been toughened, asking for UNIFIL to have access to tunnels discovered on the Blue Line, and for the Lebanese authorities to investigate them. It condemns efforts to restrict the mission's movements.