Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being singled out by the international community after UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, was trapped in operations in southern Lebanon by the Israeli army on Sunday October 13. The head of the Jewish state calls for the withdrawal of UN forces from this area : “You provide human shields to Hezbollah, your refusal to evacuate the UNIFIL soldiers made them hostages of Hezbollah, this endangers them as it endangers our soldiers,” he assured.
UNIFIL has been present in Lebanon since 1978, when Israel occupied the south of the country. Its powers were expanded in 2006 with an agreement that specified that only UN peacekeeping forces and the Lebanese army are deployed behind “the blue line”the border between Israel and Lebanon.
These UN forces have 10,000 soldiers, including 700 Frenchone of the largest contingents with Italy and Spain. Their headquarters is in Naqoura, about a hundred kilometers from Beirut. UNIFIL is a power of persuasion, of dissuasion, but not of intervention. The priority is to stabilize Lebanonto relay the information to the United Nations headquarters in New York.
To obtain this information, ground troops survey the population. They also have radars that record drone shots and flights.
Who finances?
This United Nations interim force in Lebanon is financed by all UN member states, but only 40 states provide men. The effectiveness of UNIFIL is highly contested. We know that Hezbollah has built tunnels under the blue line to cross into Israel and the UN has asked Lebanon for access to its tunnels, in vain.
After 2006, the shooting and tensions continued more sporadically, until escalation a year ago. Since 1978, more than 330 peacekeepers were killed in Lebanon. The “attacks” against these UN forces may constitute “war crimes”, warned António Guterresthe spokesperson for the Secretary General of the United Nations.
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