WASHINGTON: The future of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon has split the United States and its European allies, raising implications for security in the Middle East and becoming the latest snag to vex relations between the US and key partners like France, Britain and Italy.
At issue is the peacekeeping operation known as UNIFIL, whose mandate expires at the end of August and will need to be renewed by the UN Security Council to continue. It was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion, and its mission was expanded following the monthlong 2006 war between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.
The multinational force has played a significant role in monitoring the security situation in southern Lebanon for decades, including during the Israel-Hezbollah war last year, but has drawn criticism from both sides and numerous US lawmakers, some of whom now hold prominent roles in President Donald Trump’s administration or wield new influence with the White House.
Trump administration political appointees came into office this year with the aim of shutting down UNIFIL as soon as possible. They regard the operation as an ineffectual waste of money that is merely delaying the goal of eliminating Hezbollah’s influence and restoring full security control to the Lebanese Armed Forces that the government says it is not yet capable of doing.
