Four years after a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah, the UN forces keeping them apart in southern Lebanon are under mounting strain amid fears of a fresh conflict and hostility from villagers.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), is in a delicate position “between two armed parties preparing for a possible new conflict,” said Paul Salem, who heads the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center.
PHOTO: EPA
“It is feeling somewhat trapped,” he said ahead of today’s anniversary of the start of the war.
The 2006 conflict was triggered by the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah in a cross-border raid. About 1,200 Lebanese were killed, the majority of them civilians, while 160 Israelis died.
UNIFIL was beefed up following the war. The 12,000-strong force is entrusted with overseeing a ceasefire between the Jewish state and the Shiite militant party.
For decades UNIFIL has maintained good relations with the people of southern Lebanon, offering them education and health services in addition to their peacekeeping duties.
But in a rare string of events this month, villagers attacked the multinational force after taking to the streets to protest a 36-hour maximum deployment exercise by UNIFIL.
In the most notable confrontation, residents of the southern town of Tulin disarmed a French patrol and attacked them with sticks, rocks and eggs before the Lebanese army intervened.
Michael Williams, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, described some of the protests as “clearly organized,” singling out one encounter he said involved about 100 villagers.
The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously approved a statement of support for its peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and called on all parties in the country to allow the forces to move freely.
The rising tensions also prompted UNIFIL commander Alberto Asarta Cuevas to urge villagers to continue to work with his troops for peace.
“Whereas we take all possible measures to mitigate inconveniences to the people, there may still be problems you may face,” Asarta said in an open letter on Thursday. “The way to deal with those problems is to discuss them directly with UNIFIL, as we have always done in order to find amicable solutions, not by obstructing the work of peacekeepers or by beating them.”
But some southerners said they were unhappy with the troops.
“For three months we feel that the behavior of French soldiers in particular has changed. They watch us all day,” said Ali Ahmad Zahwa of the municipality of the town of Kabrikha.
Abu Imad, a butcher in the town of Sawana, said: “We are not against UNIFIL, but the soldiers began to inspect our houses, take pictures and use sniffer dogs.”
A UNIFIL spokesman denied soldiers had entered civilian homes.
Lebanon’s president, government and army chief — General Jean Kahwaji — have all voiced their support for the peacekeepers.
“We commit ourselves 100 percent to protecting the UN Interim Force in Lebanon against any attack,” Kahwaji was quoted on Friday as telling An-Nahar newspaper.
But Hezbollah, which controls large swathes of southern Lebanon, has shown growing distrust of the troops.
“Their behavior is incomprehensible,” Lebanese Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan, a member of Hezbollah, told local television on Thursday. “One wonders what they want.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number