US and Lebanon deny reports of deal with Israel to withdraw UN peacekeepers

A Lebanese official has denied reports in Israeli media claiming that Israel and the United States have agreed to end the mandate of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

“This is not serious. We have sources in Washington who completely denied it,” the official told The National.

A US State Department spokesman told The National in New York the reports were "not accurate".

The UN Security Council is expected to vote in August on a draft resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) – a 10,000-strong peacekeeping force posted in southern areas bordering Israel.

The Jerusalem Post, a conservative Israeli daily newspaper, reported on Sunday that the US administration has decided not to renew Unifil’s mandate, and that Israel “did not try to convince them otherwise”.

“I don’t know where these reports are coming from, but they won’t lead anywhere. The presence of Unifil is a necessity for everyone,” the Lebanese source added. The official said the renewal process had already begun at the request of Lebanese authorities and was expected to proceed smoothly.

The decision to extend Unifil's mandate, which is taken annually, is made by the UN Security Council rather than individual countries. The council consists of 15 members; five permanent – the US, UK, France, China and Russia – and 10 rotating.

Unifil peacekeepers were deployed in 1978 after Israel invaded south Lebanon, and the force is tasked with monitoring violations from both sides of the border. Its area of operations extends from the Blue Line – the UN-delineated border between Lebanon and Israel – to the Litani River, about 30km from the border.

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the mandate was in the hands of the Security Council. But he praised the work that Unifil has done since the 1970s as "speaking for itself".

The force "has been a very crucial component to the safety and the stability of southern Lebanon", he said. "The unrest and activity across the blue line continues even now, so the situation has not returned to a position of stability."

Unifil's annual budget is around $500 million, which is provided by contributions from UN member states. Contributions to UN peacekeeping missions are based on a formula, which takes into account “relative economic wealth of member states, with the five permanent members of the Security Council required to pay a larger share because of their special responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security,” according to the UN.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly criticised Unifil in several instances, calling on the UN to withdraw its peacekeepers from Lebanon and accusing the mission of serving as human shields for Hezbollah during the recent conflict in Lebanon.

Unifil has reported numerous breaches of the US-brokered truce deal between Israel and Hezbollah that took effect in November, ending 14 months of conflict, including two months of intense Israeli bombardment.

These include nearly 2,200 Israeli airspace incursions, more than 40 air strikes, and close to 1,300 Israeli ground activities in southern Lebanon, a spokesman for the peacekeeping force told The National in April.

On the Lebanese side, Unifil has reported 19 missiles launched from Lebanon into Israel. The force has also found Hezbollah weapons caches and rocket launchers on an almost daily basis. Unifil reports violations of UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 conflict, not the latest truce on which it is based.

The peacekeeping force holds regular meetings with the ceasefire monitoring committee established under the latest truce, which is led by the United States and includes France, the Israeli military and the Lebanese army. Despite this, Israel has continued to strike Lebanon, including the capital, Beirut, claiming that it is striking Hezbollah military sites that violate the agreement.