UNIFIL Troops 'Avoiding' Residents of Southern Lebanon

UNIFIL members in southern Lebanon. (UNIFIL)
UNIFIL members in southern Lebanon. (UNIFIL)
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UNIFIL Troops 'Avoiding' Residents of Southern Lebanon

UNIFIL members in southern Lebanon. (UNIFIL)
UNIFIL members in southern Lebanon. (UNIFIL)

Troops from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have limited their activity to main roads in southern Lebanon, raising questions among the locals about whether they have been ordered to restrict their movement in wake of recent attacks against them.

Members of UNIFIL have been attacked on two separate occasions in December and January.

Asharq Al-Awsat toured the areas of operation of UNIFIL in the South where the locals have expressed their support for the international force and fears that it may withdraw from the area.

They believe UNIFIL is the last remaining international cover provided to Lebanon amid its successive crises.

The international troops are seen as a source of stability and financial support in the South, but the recent lack of interaction between them and the locals has raised concerns.

In the past, international troops dining at restaurants, shopping at grocers, visiting clinics and other public places was a common and welcome sight. Now, as they remain in their vehicles and avoid contact with the people, concerns have started to mount.

Locals who have spoken to Asharq Al-Awsat stressed that relations with UNIFIL cannot be undermined by any random incident.

The soldiers "have become our friends. They are no strangers to us."

In fact, they expressed their disappointment with the latest attacks against the troops, saying the perpetrators are of the minority that oppose the force and their affiliations are known.

They are only carrying out orders aimed at forcing the troops to restrict their movement, they explained.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Asharq Al-Awsat that the attacks have not deterred the troops from carrying out their duties.

They continue to communicate and coordinate with the Lebanese army, he stressed.

He said the peacekeepers will continue to implement UN Security Council resolution 1701.

UNIFIL carries out over 400 patrols and operations per day. It also contributes to small development projects, amounting to 7 million dollars annually, and provides job opportunities to over 600 Lebanese people.

Now, the soldiers are avoiding interacting with the locals so that their actions will not be exploited by some political powers - Hezbollah - to deliver a political message to the international force.

A field source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the opponents of UNIFIL make up no more than 3 percent of the local population.

"We know who they are. They are carrying out the orders aimed at restricting the troops' movement," he said.

Restricted movement
The first attack against UNIFIL took place in the town of Shakra on December 22 when locals accused the forces of taking photos of the area. The second took place in Bint Jbeil last week when people assaulted a UNIFIL patrol.

Tenenti told Asharq Al-Awsat that UNIFIL was coordinating closely with the Lebanese army in its areas of operation.

On claims that the troops were avoiding interacting with the locals, he said that the peacekeeping force has not changed its policies.

UNIFIL values that longstanding and fruitful relationship with the local population, he added.

Its priority lies in fulfilling its mandate, he stressed. UNIFIL is still committed to Lebanon and the people of the South and to preserving lasting peace.

Political messages
The two recent attacks have raised a number of questions over their motives and the political messages that were being directed at the international mission.

In a rare firm tone, the UN had urged the Lebanese authorities to probe the attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice.

"The denial of UNIFIL's freedom of movement and any aggression against those serving the cause of peace is unacceptable," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said after last week's attack.

"UNIFIL condemns attacks on men and women serving the cause of peace, which are violations of both Lebanese and international law," Kandice Ardiel, a UNIFIL press official, had also said last week.

She added that UNIFIL also condemns those who manipulate local residents to serve their purposes.

Lebanese political analyst Dr. Nassib Hoteit said the problems between the locals and UNIFIL stem from the former's questioning of some of the security roles played by some members of the force, not the entire mission.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said that "locals" refers to the actual residents themselves and to the unregulated popular resistance.

He acknowledged that problems between the people and UNIFIL are not uncommon, but they have grown in frequency in recent weeks.

Some people believe UNIFIL is veering away from its mission and is not coordinating its movement with the army. Such allegations are due to the security tensions in the South, he said.

The people are tense because the mounting crises and international pressure against Lebanon, he explained.

Moreover, Hoteit warned that problems will only increase if an international decision was taken to pull UNIFIL out of the South.

That will mean the removal of international cover over Lebanon. "UNIFIL is an important factor of stability in the country and it is an important symbol of international presence and recognition of Lebanon," he stressed.

Lebanese fears
Despite the tensions and concerns, the southerners don't believe that these incidents will impact the fate of UNIFIL.

Some have described them as "incidental" and not reflective of the people of the South.

Lebanese sources said the two recent attacks are "rare" and are usually resolved through the military.

This does not however, eliminate concerns. Hoteit, who hails from the South, said the withdrawal of UNIFIL would leave the region vulnerable to Israeli attacks that the country can do without as it grapples with major internal economic and political crises.

Projects worth millions
The security problems have not harmed the relations between the locals and the peacekeeping force.

In the town of Maarake in the Tyre province, the Malaysian contingent was invited to attend a wake to commemorate the victims of recent floods in the Asian country.

Such incidents reflect the unique ties that bind the locals to UNIFIL.

The southerners also benefit from projects carried out by UNIFIL that top 7 million dollars annually.

UNIFIL Commander Major General Stefano Del Col said last week that the soldiers had carried out over 180,000 field operation and over 400 projects and grants.

It has also offered support to the Lebanese army that is the foundation to the international force achieving its goal of providing lasting peace in southern Lebanon, he added.

Residents in Tyre have cited major development projects that were carried out by UNIFIL, such a sewage network in the border town of Naqoura. They have also offered health, agricultural and veterinary services.

In Marjeyoun, the locals credited the international force with installing solar panels to light up street lamps.

The international troops also contribute to the local economy. Over 10,000 soldiers make up UNIFIL and they shop for their daily needs at local markets. Furthermore, the international force has provided jobs to 630 Lebanese people, while 300 foreign workers and their families are also employed with it.

In Marjeyoun, two locals look at the solar-powered street lamps and say that without UNIFIL such an initiative would never have been implemented.

"Harming soldiers who have left behind their families to provide us with peace of mind and stability is totally unacceptable," they said.



West Bank Refugee Camp Gets Foretaste of UNRWA's Demise

UN workers clean up after the Israeli raid - AFP
UN workers clean up after the Israeli raid - AFP
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West Bank Refugee Camp Gets Foretaste of UNRWA's Demise

UN workers clean up after the Israeli raid - AFP
UN workers clean up after the Israeli raid - AFP

Residents of Nur Shams camp in the occupied West Bank are fearful for their future after an Israeli raid this week damaged the UN agency for Palestinian refugees office there.

The 13,000 inhabitants of the camp near the northern city of Tulkarem depend heavily on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

UNRWA notably runs two schools, a clinic and sanitation services in Nur Shams.

Stunned refugees watched as workers cleared rubble from around the office, which was almost totally destroyed in an "anti-terrorist" operation on Thursday.

"For us, it's UNRWA or nothing," Shafiq Ahmad Jad, who runs a phone shop in the camp, told AFP.

"For the refugees... they look to UNRWA as their mother," said Hanadi Jabr Abu Taqa, an agency official in charge of the northern West Bank.

"So imagine if they lost their mother."

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini blamed the destruction on Israeli forces, saying they had "severely damaged" the office.

But the military firmly denied the accusations, telling AFP that the damage was "likely" caused by explosives planted by "terrorists".

The office will have to be relocated, "a significant investment" according to Roland Friedrich, the agency's head in the West Bank.

"The psychological impact, of course, is devastating," he added after speaking to residents on Saturday.

- 'Attack on right of return' -

From his phone shop whose facade was torn off, Jad watched as excavators removed rubble and technicians repaired communications cabling.

He said he believed the chaos was linked to the Israeli parliament's adoption late last month of a law banning "UNRWA's activities on Israeli territory".

Were the agency to disappear even from the Palestinian territories like Tulkarem, he said the streets would fill with even more rubbish and sick people would go without care.

"To want to eliminate it is to want to eliminate the Palestinian question," Jad said.

Fellow camp resident Mohammed Said Amar, in his 70s, said Israel was attacking UNRWA "for political ends, to abolish the right of return".

He was referring to the principle that Palestinians who fled the land or were expelled when Israel was created in 1948 have the right to return, as do their descendants.

He insisted that Palestinian armed groups did not use the UNRWA premises, which locals consider "sacred".

If the army destroyed the building, as he believed, this meant it always wanted to target it.

Nihaya al-Jundi fumed that daily life was paralysed after every raid and that impassable roads left residents isolated.

Nur Shams needs international organizations like UNRWA to rebuild, said Jundi, whose center for the disabled was damaged and where the wheelchair ramp collapsed.

The camp, established in the early 1950s, was long a fairly quiet, tight-knit community.

But in recent years, armed movements have taken root there against a backdrop of violence between Palestinians and Israelis, economic insecurity and no political horizons.

- 'They worry' -

Two days after the Israeli operation, the internet was still not repaired and some main roads remained an obstacle course.

UNRWA's operations have resumed, however.

"The first thing we do is that we make sure that we announce that the schools are open," said the agency's Jabr Abu Taqa.

"We know how important it is for us to bring the children to what they consider a safe haven," she added.

As she strolled through the camp, many anxious residents approached her.

One young man pointed to a ransacked barber's shop and asked: "What did he do to deserve this, the barber? He no longer has work, money. What will he do?"

Mustafa Shibah, 70, worried about his grandchildren. He turned his radio's volume all the way up during the raids -- but the little ones were not fooled.

"My granddaughter wakes up (from the raids) and bursts into tears," he said.

"They worry, they have trouble getting to school because of the (damaged) road."

For him, the threats to UNRWA are just the latest example of the suffering of Nur Shams residents who feel abandoned by Palestinians elsewhere.

"Why is it only us that have to pay while they dance in Ramallah and have a good life in Hebron?" he asked.

He said Israel "feels they can do anything" with no one to stop them.