Guest pen|UN peacekeeping has not achieved the desired results in Lebanon. Better alternatives should be developed for the operation.
in southern Lebanon the operational Unifil (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) is, as its name suggests, a temporary peacekeeping force, although it has proven to be permanent. The operation was founded in 1978.
Finland has already participated in Unifil three times. Currently, around 200 Finnish peacekeepers serve in the area in difficult and dangerous conditions. More than 10,000 people are involved in the operation.
The conflict between Lebanon and Israel is sad and in many ways completely pointless. The countries have no relevant border disputes. The current demarcation line runs roughly in the same place where the corresponding border has always run.
Controlling this troubled dividing line is now the main mission of the Unifil operation. The purpose is to prevent the outbreak of violence and to support the effort of the Lebanese Armed Forces to take control of southern Lebanon. There have been no permanent results despite decades of presence. The risk of the long duration of the operation is becoming more part of the structure of the conflict than its solution.
Lebanon was originally drawn into the conflict in the Middle East, when Palestinian fighters carried out bloody attacks against Israel from there. Israel intervened militarily in 1978 and occupied large areas of Lebanon in the 1980s when the country was in a civil war. It was a strategic mistake on Israel’s part. Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. However, the conflict did not end.
The main reason for the continuation of the conflict is the Shiite extremist organization Hezbollah, closely supported by Iran, which keeps Israel on its toes with the constant threat of rocket and terrorist attacks. The last war in the area was in the summer of 2006.
Hezbollah is the only political party in Lebanon that has its own fighting forces. It is like a state within a state and is able to hold multinational Lebanon hostage to its actions. The situation is unsustainable in many ways, and the Lebanese themselves should find a solution to it.
Always the fragile state of peace in the Middle East ended in October 2023 with a shocking terrorist attack by the extremist organization Hamas against Israel. Israel’s extreme countermeasures in the Gaza Strip that followed crossed the limits of the rules of warfare a long time ago.
In the shadow of the Gaza war, Hezbollah has acted as Iran’s intermediary in attacks against Israel. So far, neither side has wanted to escalate the situation into a full-scale war. There is also no widespread support for military action in Lebanon. However, rocket, artillery and airstrikes follow one another, and civilians suffer on both sides of the border.
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Peacekeepers have no means to prevent violence.
Peacekeepers have no means of preventing this violence. The UNIFIL operation, together with the Lebanese Armed Forces, should ensure that there are no Hezbollah weapons or fighters in southern Lebanon. This goal has not been achieved at any stage.
The reason is not the peacekeepers. The operation’s mandate and practical possibilities are very limited. The role of the UN is reduced mainly to observation. Balancing in the sensitive political situation of the country limits the possibilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces to operate effectively. When the shooting starts, the peacekeepers have no choice but to take cover in their bases.
Like the operation is not meaningful. In an ideal situation, a new UN mission with a strong mandate and a narrow buffer zone of responsibility would be established. However, reaching the necessary consensus is very difficult.
A realistic option would be a small monitoring operation once the current wave of violence is over. It would be able to do the same as the Unifil operation, i.e. report on the situation, support the Lebanese armed forces and negotiate with the parties. Monitoring could be enhanced by technical means, for example drones. The EU is a more effective actor than the UN when it comes to strengthening the operational capability of the Lebanese armed forces.
The surest way to peace also between Lebanon and Israel would be through a peace concluded between Israel and the Palestinians.
Olli Nurmi is a doctoral researcher who served in the Unifil operation in 2012–2013.
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