Lebanese MPs have called for an extension of the UN's peacekeeping mission in the south of the country, months before its withdrawal is set to begin.
Eighty-six of the 128 members of the Lebanese parliament submitted a letter to the UN Security Council and handed it to Jean Arnault, an envoy of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, while he was visiting Lebanon.
The MPs said the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) should continue operations “in a manner that contributes to supporting stability, protecting civilians and assisting the Lebanese state in extending its authority over its entire territory”, according to one of the signatories, Ibrahim Mneimneh.
"What we're asking is to see with the UN what will be the challenges and how us as MPs can help in extending the mandate of Unifil," independent MP and signatory to the letter Najat Saliba told The National.
"We need this neutral observer to document the presence and violations of all these agreements from the part of Israel and Hezbollah."
The National reported this month that the UN Security Council has yet to begin substantive discussions on what, if anything, should replace the peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon. Diplomats are waiting to see whether US-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon, and the peace framework arising from them, could render a UN presence unnecessary.
Last August the council unanimously approved a resolution to extend Unifil's mandate “for the final time”, under US and Israeli pressure. The mandate runs until December 31, 2026.
Despite a partial reduction in tensions, southern Lebanon remains deeply unstable and violence continues daily. Earlier this month, a Serbian peacekeeper was killed in Lebanon in a mortar attack.
A total of seven UN peacekeepers have been killed in Lebanon since hostilities resumed in early March. Among them were three Indonesian peacekeepers who died in attacks that month. In April, a French peacekeeper was killed and three were injured in an ambush while clearing explosives near Ghandouriyah, in southern Lebanon.
Unifil comprises thousands of peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries posted along the 120km Blue Line, the UN-demarcated frontier separating Lebanon and Israel.
Unifil was established in 1978 following Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon. Its original mandate was to confirm Israel’s withdrawal, restore peace and security and assist the Lebanese government in re-establishing its authority in the area.
Over time, particularly after the 2006 war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, Unifil's role expanded under UN Security Council Resolution 1701 to include monitoring the cessation of hostilities, supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon and helping to ensure that the area between the Litani River and the Blue Line remains free of unauthorised armed personnel or weapons.
