Per the AP story below, Hezbollah operatives [yes, those unknown perpetrators mentioned by the AP article] have begun a series of attacks against UNIFIL forces stationed in south Lebanon. These UN peacekeeping forces were deployed along the Lebanese-Israeli border, first in 1978 following the Israeli invasion against Palestinian (PLO) guerillas, then expanded in 2006 after the Hezbollah-Israeli July war of that year.
Though UNIFIL is a friend of Lebanon, its forces perpetuate the instability in the south of the country by acquiescing to a role by militias, guerillas and non-state actors at the expense of the Lebanese state. The UN should instead work hard to permit the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to take control of the entire length of the country's borders not only with Israel, but also with Syria. The ceasefires that the UN has worked out over the decades always minimized the role of the legitimate Lebanese Army in deference to Israel and Syria, while the LAF ought to be the exclusive military custodian of the borders of the country.
Now that Hezbollah has become under pressure from the entire Lebanese population, after it had dragged the country into endless warmongering and covered the rampant corruption of its sister Shiite organization Amal (led by the corrupt speaker of parliament Nabih Berri), it is now activating its cells in the south against the UNIFIL which is perceived as a Western bulwark against Hezbollah's desire to mount attacks, unhampered, against Israel. Recall that it was Hezbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, that dislodged all Western presence in Lebanon in the 1980s by bombing the Multinational force (US Marines and French Paratroopers] and the US and French embassies, by assassinating numerous American and French ambassadors (Francis Meloy and Louis Delamare), educators (Malcolm Kerr), journalists and others; hijacked flight TWA847 in which they killed US Navy soldier Dean Stethem; kidnapped dozens of journalists, clergymen, educators, and administrators from the US, France, the UK, India, Ireland.... The objective was to take Lebanon out of the Western orbit in which it had always been. And Hezbollah succeeded, Ronald Reagan withdrew the Marines, the French, the British and the Italians withdrew their soldiers and abandoned Lebanon to Syrian troops of occupation which entered Beirut and remained in the country until 2005.
It is ironic that the pacifying efforts of the UNIFIL troops have also had a detrimental impact on the sovereignty of Lebanon and the sovereign right of the Lebanese state and army to be the only guardians of the border. Why, I ask UN Secretary António Guterres, who recently visited the country, why can't the world assist the Lebanese State in recovering its sovereignty over its borders, instead of protecting illegal terrorist militias like Hezbollah?
The UN should no longer cover for Hezbollah and its allied terrorist militias in the south, and should pull out of the south, while at the same time urging those Western countries that fund UNIFIL to spend their money at strengthening the capabilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces. Unfortunately, those Western countries do not want a strong capable Lebanese army because of pressure from Israel and Syria, both of whom find a lawless border with Lebanon convenient for breaching Lebanese sovereignty, smuggling, and warmongering.
The UN should not renew the mandate of UNIFIL at the next scheduled renewal request in August 2022. Lebanon must be put to the minimal test of securing its own borders. The UN and its backers should either let Lebanon fend its way, even at extreme cost, or support it against Israeli and Syrian proclivities to undermine Lebanon as they have done for five decades. If Lebanon is unable to secure its own borders against Syria and Israel, then what purpose is there in propping up a dysfunctional state that has failed for close to five decades?
Hanibaal
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Associated Press: UN peacekeepers attacked in south Lebanon near Israel border
BEIRUT (AP) — Unknown perpetrators attacked a group of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, vandalizing their vehicles and stealing official items from them, a U.N. official said Wednesday.
Such scuffles with U.N. peacekeepers are not uncommon in southern Lebanon since the peacekeeping force was expanded following the 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.
The U.N. force, known as UNIFIL, called on Lebanese authorities to “investigate quickly and thoroughly, and prosecute all those responsible for these crimes,” said Kandice Ardiel, a UNIFIL press official. She added that the attack occurred on Tuesday night.
Local media reported that residents of the southern town of Bint Jbeil scuffled with Irish peacekeepers who they said were taking photographs of residential homes. The reports added that the U.N. force was not accompanied by Lebanese troops.
.............. Continue reading AP article at:
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