"Security warnings" for the Lebanese Foreign Minister - and the French attempt to keep UNIFIL
The issue of dismantling the peacekeeping force was raised again in the Security Council, with France responding to Lebanon's request and demanding the cancellation of the decision made last year. The US strongly opposed: "We will not repeat the mistakes of the past." The interim UN coordinator in Beirut claimed: Hezbollah is not disarming - because of Israel. Foreign Minister Raje, a rival of Hezbollah, is not arriving at his office.
A closed-door discussion opened at the end of the week in the UN Security Council, which re-discussed the decision to dismantle the peacekeeping force on the Lebanese border. The UNIFIL force has already begun preparations for its dismantling at the end of 2026, according to the decision made at the UN last year, but France called for extending the force's mandate beyond the set date.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's Foreign Minister Youssef Raje has not been seen in his office, and it is claimed in Lebanon that he received "security warnings." Raje is considered one of the supporters of negotiations with Israel, and in the past, he has clashed more than once with Hezbollah. When asked if he had received security warnings that prevent him from arriving at his office, the minister answered in the affirmative.
At the UN, the Americans expressed strong opposition to the French proposal. It was the Lebanese ambassador who wrote to the UN Secretary-General requesting to "reconsider" the previous decision, claiming that in light of the security escalation and the negotiations with Israel, the right solution is to extend the mandate. France expressed support, but the French ambassador did not present a written draft for the proposal or specify a defined timeframe for the extension.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said that Washington is not interested in extending the mandate of a force that it believes has failed. "The US does not intend to repeat the mistakes of the past," he stated. The American opposition is particularly significant because the extension of the current mandate had already been defined as the final extension, ahead of what is supposed to be an orderly withdrawal of UNIFIL from Southern Lebanon.
The question of the day after
Beyond the confrontation over the future of the force, the discussion exposed a deeper disagreement on the question of responsibility for the situation in Southern Lebanon. The interim UN coordinator in Beirut, Carlos Arno, presented a position according to which one of the reasons why Hezbollah is not disarming is the presence of the IDF in the territory. According to him, an Israeli withdrawal should be carried out first, and only after that, the strengthening of the Lebanese army.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix warned against creating a military vacuum in Southern Lebanon. According to him, the planning for the withdrawal has already begun, but it is still unclear what the day after will look like and what the implications will be for stability in the region.
Israel's ambassador Danny Danon said: "UNIFIL has failed for years in the mission assigned to it, and did not prevent the buildup of Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon. The decision on ending the mandate has already been made and there is no room to go back. The responsibility thereafter will be in the hands of the Lebanese government and the Lebanese army."
A senior official in Israel added: "We oppose a new UNIFIL force. We see eye to eye with the American administration on the issue and we agreed that the US will train the elite units of the Lebanese army so that it can control the territory effectively."
