The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to extend the mandate of UNIFIL, its peacekeeping mission along the Israel-Lebanon border, for another year.
The short resolution reaffirms the council’s commitment to Resolution 1701, a document crafted at the end of the Second Lebanon War in 2006 that in part disbands and disarms militias like Hezbollah, which controls Southern Lebanon and operates outside of the government’s official armed forces. The resolution ratified on Tuesday calls for an end to hostilities in the area.
Washington was able to thwart the resolution making a “demand” for an end to violence, based on its view that Israel should be free, to the extent possible, to neutralize Hezbollah, per JNS sources with extensive knowledge of the discussions.
The resolution, which includes no major changes from last year’s document, stresses “the importance of and the need to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
France, which serves as the “penholder” on all U.N. matters related to Lebanon and led the drafting of the mandate, appeared to avoid drawn-out negotiations on contentious issues in drafting its concise resolution, choosing to zero in on the need for a de-escalation in hostilities.
‘Interim’ Lebanese force
The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, was created in 1978, which suggests that the “interim” part of its name is somewhat of a misnomer.
The international force, which numbers more than 10,000, patrols the area near the demarcated Blue Line—Israel’s line of withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 which was never explicitly meant to serve as a final border—and northward.
The Jewish state has criticized UNIFIL extensively, accusing it of failing to have any substantial impact in curbing Hezbollah’s terror operations. Since Oct. 7, Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets and drones at Israel, decimating the north of the country.
UNIFIL also serves as a hotline between Israel and Hezbollah in particularly tense times.
Negotiations in recent years have focused on troop numbers and the freedom of UNIFIL personnel’s movement, which is often limited by Hezbollah operatives who prevent peacekeepers from inspecting potentially problematic areas and facilities.
‘A choice to make’
Multiple diplomatic sources told JNS that the council rejected a U.S. effort to link the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate to a U.S. initiative to move Jerusalem and Beirut into negotiations to settle their territorial disputes. No such language appears in Tuesday’s resolution.
A reference to upholding the parameters of the 1949 Israel-Lebanon armistice agreement was removed from an early draft at Washington’s request, ostensibly to provide Israel with wiggle room in border negotiations, according to senior diplomatic sources. But the final document expresses the council’s support for Lebanon’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence.
Washington came up short in gaining the council’s explicit condemnation of Hezbollah incorporated into the resolution, the senior diplomats said.
Before the vote, Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters that he had a message for the Lebanese people.
“You and your government have a choice to make: Confront Hezbollah today or watch as your country is dragged into chaos and destruction,” Danon said. “The time for action is now.”
The Israeli envoy urged the Lebanese to “not let Hezbollah and Iran dictate your future,” stressing that Israel doesn’t seek war but “will not hesitate to defend our people.”
“We will not tolerate Hezbollah firing rockets at our citizens,” he said.
Robert Wood, deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the council on Tuesday that only a “comprehensive understanding relating to the Blue Line that has real implementation mechanisms” will lead to stability along the border.
“To achieve that, we are going to clearly need a strengthened UNIFIL at some point to help with implementation,” he said. “More immediately, extending UNIFIL’s mandate, which this resolution does, supports our goal of regional de-escalation, which is now more important than ever.”
The top peacekeeping official for the United Nations told JNS in a press briefing earlier this summer that “it’s important to be clear about what UNIFIL can do,” and that Resolution 1701 is “not for UNIFIL to implement” but “it’s for the parties.”
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, U.N. under-secretary-general for peace operations, said at the time that the lack of progress on the implementation of the resolution “doesn’t mean that UNIFIL should not evolve.”
