UN Security Council says UNIFIL must be protected after Israeli attacks

UN Security Council statement does not name Israel but follows several days of Israeli attacks on UNIFIL positions in southern Lebanon. (File/Karamallah Daher/Reuters)

United Nations Security Council has expressed strong concern after several UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon came under fire from the Israeli military.

In a statement adopted by consensus on Monday, the 15-member council also urged all parties to respect the safety and security of the personnel and premises of the UN peacekeeping mission, known as UNIFIL.

"UN peacekeepers and UN premises must never be the target of an attack," said the council, reiterating its support for UNIFIL and the operation's importance for regional stability.

The Security Council also called for the full implementation of its resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006 with the aim of keeping peace on the border between Lebanon and Israel. The council "recognised the need for further practical measures to achieve that outcome."

Since the start of the Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon on Oct. 1, UNIFIL positions have been affected 20 times, including by direct fire. On Sunday two Israeli tanks burst through the gates of a UNIFIL base, the UN said.

"Five peacekeepers have been injured during these incidents, including one peacekeeper who sustained a bullet wound," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Monday.

Israel has asked the UN peacekeepers to move 5 km (3 miles) back from the Blue Line - a UN-mapped line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday in a statement addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: "The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL."

UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Monday that UN troops would not move. After briefing the Security Council behind closed doors, he told reporters that he would meet with Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon on Tuesday.

Lacroix added that the UN is "reviewing constantly the situation, and we have contingency planning for all scenarios."

UNIFIL mandated to 'assist'

Deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood told reporters ahead of the council meeting that it was important that UNIFIL be able to do its job.

The Security Council authorised UNIFIL - under resolution 1701 - "to assist" Lebanese forces in ensuring southern Lebanon is "free of any armed personnel, assets, and weapons other than those of the government of Lebanon."

"We have to stand against ... every suggestion that if resolution 1701 was not implemented it's because UNIFIL did not implement, which was never its mandate," said Lacroix, stressing that UNIFIL had a supporting role.

Danon said last week that the Lebanese army and UNIFIL had failed to gain control of the area.

He argued that Israel was now acting to enforce resolution 1701, telling the Security Council: "Our soldiers are now in the field, along the border in Lebanon, exposing and dismantling Hezbollah's infrastructure."

The United States and France have said that strengthening Lebanon's army would be crucial to implementing resolution 1701.

"UNIFIL cannot prevent the hostilities," Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said on Monday. "UNIFIL is being jeopardised and endangered and one country openly threatens its personnel, which is unacceptable."

UNIFIL is also authorised under resolution 1701 "to assist" – if requested by the Lebanese government – in preventing the illicit transport of weapons into the country. The resolution 1701 also bans parties from crossing the Blue Line by ground or air.

Danon told the Security Council last week that it "must ensure the right mechanisms are in place for the Lebanese army and UNIFIL to meet their obligations."

When asked what that might look like, Danon told Reuters on Monday that he wanted to see "a more robust mandate for UNIFIL to deter Hezbollah."

Any changes to UNIFIL's mandate would have to be authorised by the Security Council. Diplomats said there are no such discussions at the moment. The mission is currently authorised until Aug. 31, 2025.

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Source: TRT