The United Nations Security Council on Thursday unanimously extended "for a final time" the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon until the end of 2026, when the operation will then begin a year-long "orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal."
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), established in 1978, patrols Lebanon's southern border with Israel.
The 15-member council unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution after a compromise was reached with the United States, a veto-wielding council member. The Security Council decided "to extend for a final time the mandate of UNIFIL."
The resolution "requests UNIFIL to cease its operations on 31 December 2026 and to start from this date and within one year its orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal of its personnel, in close consultation with the Government of Lebanon with the aim of making Lebanon Government the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon."
During the one-year withdrawal period, the resolution says, UNIFIL is authorized to provide security and assistance to UN personnel, “to maintain situational awareness in the vicinity of UNIFIL locations,” and to contribute to the protection of civilians and the safe delivery of humanitarian aid “within the limits of its capacities.”
The resolution urges the international community “to intensify its support, including equipment, material and finance” to the Lebanese armed forces.
This will be the last time the United States will support an extension of UNIFIL, said acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea.
"The security environment in Lebanon is radically different than just one year ago, creating the space for Lebanon to assume greater responsibility," she told the council.
UNIFIL's mandate was expanded in 2006, following a month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah.
"Decades since UNIFIL's mandate was extended, it is time to dispel the illusion. UNIFIL has failed in its mission and allowed Hezbollah to become a dangerous regional threat," Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said after the vote.
The United States brokered a truce in November between Lebanon and Israel following more than a year of conflict.
The US is now seeking to promote a plan for Hezbollah's disarmament. Washington is linking the plan to a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, while also promoting an economic development zone in Lebanon's south aimed at reducing Hezbollah's reliance on Iranian funding.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had last week called for the UN peacekeepers to remain, arguing that curtailing UNIFIL's mandate "will negatively impact the situation in the south, which still suffers from Israeli occupation."
But Lebanon's government quickly welcomed the new resolution after it passed, emphasizing the securing of one last renewal.
Aoun in a statement expressed hope "that the additional year for withdrawal will be a fixed deadline for confirming and strengthening Lebanon's sovereignty over its borders."
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also noted that the extension "reiterates the call for Israel to withdraw its forces from the five sites it continues to occupy, and affirms the necessity of extending state authority over all its territory."
