Western and United Nations diplomats dismissed as rumors claims that the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was pulling out of the country.
The Lebanese government is expected to request the extension of the peacekeeping forces’ mandate that expires in August.
A US State Department spokesperson told Asharq Al-Awsat that the reports about the withdrawal are “inaccurate”. He did not elaborate further.
UNIFIL has been deployed in southern Lebanon since March 1978. Some amendments to its mandate were introduced after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and again after the July 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Debate rages every year over its duties as the deadline for renewing its mission approaches. Some countries have sought to grant the force more powers, which would put it at odds with Hezbollah that holds sway in the areas of its deployment.
Hezbollah was severely weakened after last year’s war with Israel and the ensuing ceasefire agreement had demanded that the Iran-backed party remove its weapons from the South.
UNIFIL forces are deployed south of the Litani River and along the border with Israel. It boasts over 10,000 soldiers from some 50 countries, as well as 800 civilian employees.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Asharq Al-Awsat that the forces’ greatest challenge is the lack of a long-term political solution between Lebanon and Israel.
UNIFIL continues to encourage the parties to renew their commitment to fully implementing UN Security Council resolution 1701 and taking tangible steps to address pending issues related to it, including steps that would lead to a permanent ceasefire, he added.
It is too soon to tell what UNIFIL’s mandate will be like after next August, he went on to say, stressing that changing its mission is up to the Security Council.
Israeli media had reported that the United States wanted to end UNIFIL’s mission. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, a diplomat dismissed the report as “usual fearmongering aimed at influencing Lebanon and other parties interested in extending UNIFIL’s mandate and its role in preserving stability in the South and along the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel.”
The Security Council is currently awaiting Lebanon’s request to extend the mandate for another year, said western diplomats. The letter will include Lebanon’s clear demand for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all occupied Lebanese territories, including the five hilltops it seized during last year’s war.
The ceasefire agreement demanded that Israel pull out from those areas within 60 days.
Lebanon has been seeking to resolve this issue through the quintet committee tasked with monitoring the ceasefire and through intense contacts with the US.
US officials are considering pulling American support from UNIFIL in a bid to cut costs associated with its operations, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported Sunday evening. US sources later confirmed to The Times of Israel that the option was on the table.
