The United Nations Security Council extended the mandate of the U.N. force deployed in southern Lebanon by a year, amid Israeli accusations that Hizbullah is rearming in southern Lebanon.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) will continue to work on the ground until August 31, 2009, according to a unanimous decision taken by the 15-member Security Council on Wednesday.
The extension comes as an independent U.N. inspection team dispatched to the border last month concluded the border crossings between Lebanon and Syria lacked orderly inspection. Weapons smuggling there remains active, the U.N.’s Lebanon Independent Border Assessment Team said.
Israel has warned the porous border is helping the Shi’ite Hizbullah build its capabilities and believes arms are being transferred to Hizbullah bastions in south Lebanon, in contravention of Security Council resolutions.
“It’s true that Hizbullah hasn’t redeployed on the fence and hasn’t shown overt displays of arms on the streets but the organization does have a very clear military presence,” Yigal Palmor, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
Jerusalem says Hizbullah is building fortifications under villages in southern Lebanon in areas that UNFIL is not accessing.
Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war between Israel and Hizbullah, called for the “disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon” and stipulates that “there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state.”
Despite Palmor’s allegations, a UNIFIL spokesman says the organization was “fully satisfied” with the performance of both parties regarding the implementation of Resolution 1701.
“So far we have 13,000 UNIFIL peacekeepers plus Lebanese armed forces here,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told The Media Line. “There’s no evidence of new rearmament or deployment or weapons in the south of Lebanon.”
On the other hand, Lebanon says Israel is conducting illegal flights In Lebanese air space.
UNIFIL has accused of Israel of violating international resolutions by continuing these flights over Lebanon, and not providing maps where cluster bombs were dropped.
UNIFIL was originally created in 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security and help the Lebanese government restore authority in the area.
Many were critical of UNIFIL’s function, calling it a toothless tiger and claiming its troops did not have the mandate to open fire where needed.
The force was bolstered after the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah and now numbers some 15,000 personnel, most of whom are military. Its task is to assist the Lebanese army in deploying in southern Lebanon and implement the government’s sovereignty there. The organization’s mandate was also changed and troops were allowed to open fire in certain cases.
Still, Israel would like UNIFIL’s engagement policies to be stronger, to allow it to counter Hizbullah’s buildup of weapons in Lebanese villages.
Israel is concerned the Shi’ite organization has been bolstering its arms caches over the past two years both north and south of the Litani River.
Highlighting these concerns is the fact that the new Lebanese government issued a policy statement in August which said Hizbullah had the right to “liberate occupied lands,” an indication that Hizbullah is tightening its group on the Lebanese government and has no intentions of disarming.
UNIFIL is currently deployed in southern Lebanon, along the U.N.-drawn Blue Line, the border between Israel and Lebanon.
UNIFIL and the Lebanese army carried out a joint drill in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. The declared aim of the drill was to “build up the skills of fighting groups and preserve their efficiency.”
Resolution 1701 called for more cooperation between UNIFIL and the Lebanese army.