Danon: No need for a UNIFIL paralyzed by Hezbollah
The UN Security Council plans to hold further meetings to discuss a necessary change to UNIFIL’s mandate, ahead of its renewal in August.
By LAHAV HARKOVUN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) patrol the border with Israel, in the village of Khiam, Lebanon August 26, 2019. (photo credit: REUTERS/ALI HASHISHO)
Israel may change its mind about the need for a UN Interim Force in Lebanon if it continues to let Hezbollah run rampant in southern Lebanon, Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday.“If Hezbollah continues to paralyze UNIFIL’s actions and reinforce its terrorist positions in the area, there will be no choice but to draw conclusions about the necessity of the forces in its current format,” Danon warned.UNIFIL is a UN peacekeeping mission on the border of Israel and Lebanon, established in 1978 after Operation Litani, when the IDF responded to the Coastal Road massacre in which a Palestinian terrorist killed 38 Israelis, including 13 children, by attacking PLO positions in southern Lebanon, attempting to push them away from the border with Israel.Since the 2006 Second Lebanon War and UN Security Council Resolution 1701– the topic of Monday's meeting – UNIFIL’s mandate has been to help the Lebanese Armed Forces maintain the Lebanese government's sovereignty in the area.Danon’s comments come in light of Hezbollah’s attempts in recent weeks to breach the fence on the Israel-Lebanon border and infiltrate Israel.The UN Security Council plans to hold further meetings to discuss a necessary change to UNIFIL’s mandate, ahead of its renewal in August.Danon called on the Security Council to take action to “significantly improve UNIFIL’s effectiveness, especially when it comes to limiting access and freedom of movement for the forces in southern Lebanon.”UN Secretary-General reports on the implementation of Resolution 1701 repeatedly show that UNIFIL has difficulty accessing areas with a connection to Hezbollah terror activities.Sarit Zehavi, founder of the Alma Research and Education Center, whose expertise is in security along Israel’s northern borders, said of Danon’s declaration: “It’s about time. This is the first time I’ve heard an Israeli official consider whether the [UNIFIL] force is necessary.“We have been saying for a long time that we need to examine the force’s missions, and if they cannot fulfil them, they should be smaller or new expectations should be set,” Zehavi continued. “There are about 10,000 soldiers there who aren’t managing to prevent Hezbollah’s spread in southern Lebanon.”
Zehavi pointed to the incident last month in which Hezbollah cut holes in the border fence in three locations: “Where was UNIFIL in this story?”“They aren’t managing to stop Hezbollah’s military activity,” she warned.In February, the Alma Center reported Hezbollah blocked UNIFIL’s access to Baraachit, a pro-Hezbollah Shi’ite town in southern Lebanon.Residents of the village blocked French UNIFIL forces from entering to conduct a mapping and photography assignment, and Hezbollah confiscated the soldiers’ cameras. The UNIFIL force’s commander sought assistance, as women and children threw stones at the soldiers. Residents accused UNIFIL of “doing Israel's work,” saying “the Israeli enemy mobilizes them against the residents of the south and the resistance.”
