The UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon will remain there until 2026, but the UN Security Council will end it in an “orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal” process the following year.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)’s mandate was set to expire on Sunday, just as the United States and its close ally Israel have been pressing for its termination.
After Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon in 1978, UNIFIL was established to control the Israeli troops’ withdrawal from that country. Since then, its mandate has been renewed annually.
After the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict in 2006, the mission was expanded, with supporters still arguing that maintaining a demilitarized buffer between the two sides.
UNIFIL would begin removing its 10, 800 military and civilian personnel and equipment as soon as its operations were approved and continue until December 2026. The Lebanese government is in discussions with us about doing that.
The resolution also calls on Israel to withdraw its forces and declares the Lebanese government “the only provider of security” in southern Lebanon north of the UN-drawn border known as the Blue Line.
Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has pushed for the organization to end and has already overseen US funding cuts.
Since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the start of Israel’s conflict in Gaza, Israel has long accused UNIFIL of failing to stop the organization’s mission and has increasingly pushed for its termination.
Israel has been accused of attacking UNIFIL positions and injuring peacekeepers repeatedly throughout its most recent ground invasion of Lebanon, which started in October of last year.
Israel has repeatedly struck targets in Lebanon despite a ceasefire in November, and it has maintained its ground presence in some important positions.
Source: Aljazeera
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