US could demand concessions from Lebanon to keep UN troops in place

UN Security Council discussing whether to extend or scrap Unifil peacekeeping force

UN peacekeepers have been posted in southern Lebanon for about 50 years. AP

The US could be persuaded to keep UN peacekeepers in Lebanon if the country makes concessions that would allow their budget and numbers to be cut, a retired Lebanese general has said.

Members of the UN Security Council began debating on Monday whether to extend the mandate of Unifil, the UN interim force in Lebanon, for another year. The US holds a veto in the council and has yet to make its position known.

The US could seek to “extort” as many concessions as it can to allow the mandate to be extended, said Gen Mounir Shehadeh, who was the Lebanese government's co-ordinator with Unifil from 2021 to 2023. The prospect of cuts has led to concern from Lebanese officials that the peacekeepers would be rendered ineffective against surveillance efforts by Israel.

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Unifil had for several years sought to install advanced surveillance cameras and other equipment along the Blue Line that separates Israel and Lebanon. The Lebanese government resisted because of fears they might be used for espionage.

But now Beirut could find itself in a tight corner as it wants Unifil's mandate to be renewed, and says the country’s cash-strapped and overstretched army is not yet able to patrol the full area on its own. Donald Trump's administration took an axe to peacekeeping budgets and the US was deeply dubious, at best, over the mission in southern Lebanon.

The result is that Lebanon could be pressured to allow the surveillance cameras to be installed so the US might accept Unifil's mandate being extended for another year.

“The tap is closed, no more money, Unifil personnel is going to be reduced, and Unifil’s mandate may end. So instead of ending it they’re considering installing cameras with Britain’s donation,” said Gen Shehadeh.

“The issue of extending Unifil mandate has an element of extortion in it … first of all they want to extort an agreement on the surveillance towers, secondly on the extension of Unifil’s powers,” he said.

Israel regularly carries out air strikes in Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreed last year. EPA

The towers could be set up by the British, who helped build observation towers in eastern Lebanon to help in the fight against ISIS and prevent smuggling along the border with Syria.

“I know the surveillance towers well, and I was with the British [when they were installed]. The towers on the eastern borders work like a microwave – they are easily breached.

“What’s the excuse? There are no more personnel. There’s no budget. America won’t pay. What’s the alternative – to remove Unifil?” said Gen Shehadeh.

The UN council this week began debating a resolution drafted by France to extend the Unifil's mandate for a year, before its current one expires at the end of August.

The Trump administration and Israel have made no secret of their willingness to end the mandate. The US has significantly cut its funding to peacekeeping operations, while Israel has claimed – without evidence – that Unifil members are effectively human shields for Hezbollah.

Under a fragile ceasefire agreed between Hezbollah and Israel last year, the Lebanese army has been posting to the south and dismantling the group’s infrastructure there. The government has also been pushing to disarm the group by the end of the year. Despite the truce, Israel continues to bomb Lebanon on a daily basis and occupy five points of Lebanese territory.

Without Unifil present, there are fears Israel could seek to expand on the five points it occupies in southern Lebanon and create a full-on buffer zone up to the Litani River, Gen Shehadeh said.

Unifil is frequently accused of bias from all sides, which it denies. Hezbollah sympathisers in Lebanon have frequently often the UN mission of collusion with Israel and sometimes attacked peacekeepers on patrol.