PNN – The United States and France have clashed in the Security Council over the extension of the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force stationed in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, and this case has become a vehicle for their competition for influence in Lebanon.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the Lebanese newspaper “Al-Akhbar” wrote on Wednesday in a report about the bargaining in the Security Council to extend or not the UNIFIL mission and the goals behind it that the Council began discussing two days ago a draft resolution submitted by France to extend the UNIFIL mission for another year.
This is despite a sharp disagreement with the United States, to the extent that the country has officially demanded the end of the mission of these forces as a prelude to withdrawing from Lebanon within just six months.
Meanwhile, diplomatic sources reported that the French draft resolution commended the recent action of the Lebanese government, spoke of strengthening the role of the army, and considered the government’s decision an important prelude to the next stage.
Diplomatic sources added: The draft does not contain any changes or amendments to the UNIFIL mission and only calls for its automatic extension.
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However, the US representative in the Security Council has announced his country’s position in opposition to the extension of this mission, firstly relating this to the general US reservations towards peacekeeping forces around the world, and secondly justifying it by saying that the budget allocated to these forces (UNIFIL) could be spent on strengthening the capabilities of the Lebanese army.
The Americans justify their refusal to extend this mission by saying that the replacement for the international forces (UNIFIL) could be a joint monitoring committee formed to monitor the ceasefire and operating according to a mechanism based on the presence of two military teams, one in Lebanon and the other in Israel, which are coordinated with each other.
The Joint Monitoring Committee was formed under the supervision of the United States after the ceasefire between Lebanon and the Zionist regime was established. However, since its formation, the regime has repeatedly violated the ceasefire by attacking Lebanon, and the United States has not put pressure on the regime to stop these attacks.
This is while Hezbollah in Lebanon has adhered to this ceasefire and has repeatedly called on the Lebanese government to use this committee to pressure the United States and the parties guaranteeing the ceasefire to stop the Zionist regime’s attacks and fulfill its responsibility in this regard.
The aforementioned diplomatic sources confirmed that China and Russia have told Lebanon that they oppose any change or modification of UNIFIL’s mission or placing it under Chapter VII (of the UN Charter).
Both sides have acknowledged that Washington insists that the decision (to issue the resolution) be made now and its implementation begins six months later. However, France, emphasizing that the Lebanese army needs at least three years to take full control of the situation, has proposed that the UNIFIL mission be extended for another three years before leaving Lebanon.
Paris is showing particular interest in this case, and its forces, operating within the framework of the international forces (UNIFIL), have intensified their activities in southern Lebanon to convince the Americans of their ability to achieve tangible results and to try to gain the trust of the Israeli enemy.
However, this behavior has negatively affected Paris’ relations with the villagers of southern Lebanon and has increased suspicions that Paris’ actions are actually serving the Israeli enemy.