Download PDF 
(PDF, 197k)
Under UNIFIL’s watch, Hizballah has succeeded in rebuilding its military capabilities, stockpiling some 40,000 rockets and missiles—three times more than what the terrorist army had before its summer 2006 war against Israel.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the war, authorizes UNIFIL to “take all necessary action… to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind,” but UNIFIL has repeatedly failed to assert its authority.
UNIFIL Retreats When Confronted
UNIFIL’s subpar performance has not gone unnoticed by top U.N. officials. In a recent report, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cited multiple occasions where the U.N. troops avoided exercising their mandate when challenged by Hizballah fighters.
On the night of March 30, the report said, U.N. troops on patrol stopped a truck carrying weapons but let it pass after gunmen threatened the U.N. troops.
And on May 12, while UNIFIL was operating according to its mandate by photographing suspicious in-ground cable lines, Lebanese civilians began throwing stones and blocking UNIFIL’s path. Rather than defend its actions, UNIFIL agreed to discard the photographs.
Without mentioning Hizballah by name, the report also admitted that the group operates south of the Litani River in “flagrant and serious violation of Resolution 1701.”
Israel Concerned Over U.N. Mandate
Hizballah has set up positions inside Shi’ite urban areas in southern Lebanon where UNIFIL cannot operate freely without being accompanied by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). Lebanese soldiers often alert Hizballah ahead of UNIFIL inspections, according to a senior IDF officer.
“The LAF is two-thirds Shi’ite and will not challenge Hizballah,” the officer told The Jerusalem Post. But despite the disappointment with UNIFIL, the officer said Israel preferred that the force remain in Lebanon. “The IDF has not given up on UNIFIL. The alternative without them is much worse, but we still expect that the force does more.”
During a recent cabinet meeting, Israeli intelligence sources noted that Hizballah has some 2,500 non-uniformed fighters entrenched throughout southern Lebanon and has stockpiled thousands of rockets aimed directly at the Jewish state.
“Israel will not be able to accept the ongoing and growing undercutting of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which is not being implemented, and the continued smuggling of all types of weapons into Lebanon, upsetting the balance along Israel’s northern border,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. Such a significant arms buildup would not have been possible were UNIFIL forces fulfilling their duties under Resolution 1701.
UNIFIL Can Play Greater Role
Israeli officials have expressed their concerns to Italian and French officials over Hizballah’s rearmament. These two E.U. countries, along with Germany, contribute the largest number of troops to UNIFIL.
“We now have an opportunity to disarm Hizballah, and we must not lose it,” Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told her Italian counterpart, Franco Frattini. “If we do not do it now, it will be much more difficult later on.”
UNIFIL monitors along the Lebanese-Syrian border could play a significant role in stemming the flow of rockets and other deadly arms to Hizballah. In addition, a concerted and more determined UNIFIL presence in all areas south of the Litani River and expanded operations in Hizballah strongholds to the north are essential if the U.N. force is to deal effectively with Hizballah’s continued violations of Resolution 1701. •NER•
