Thursday, August 31, 2023

As tensions soar on northern border, Israel works to protect UN peacekeeper mandate

Israeli diplomats are optimistic that the United Nations peacekeeping force along the frontier with Lebanon will not be weakened when the UN Security Council meets to renew its mandate on Thursday, amid elevated tensions along the informal border.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, has attempted to maintain calm in southern Lebanon since its creation in 1978, and is currently tasked with enforcing a UN resolution barring armed operations by Lebanese terror group Hezbollah near the ceasefire line that forms the de facto border.

The mandate, which expires on Thursday, includes a clause that says the peacekeeping force “is allowed to conduct its operations independently,” meaning without the Lebanese army. READ MORE