By Lamis Andoni
Al-Jazeera
"Four years after the end of the war between Lebanon and Israel, the role of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (Unifil), which had been entrusted with keeping the peace between the two countries, has been thrown into doubt amid intensifying threats of another war.
Both Israel and Hezbollah, the latter having been the main target of Israel's 2006 war, have stepped up their accusations against Unifil. Israel is again accusing the peacekeeping forces of failing to prevent, if not of collaborating with, Hezbollah in its replenishment of its military power in south Lebanon. Hezbollah, meanwhile, believes that "certain contingents" of Unifil are spying for, if not assisting, Israel.
Earlier this month, the French contingent of Unifil encountered resistance by residents in several villages while carrying out "capacity testing exercises", leading to injuries on both sides. The "testing exercise" included searching homes, taking photographs and questioning residents in order to identify "Hezbollah members".....
Hariri tribunal
However, Unifil's role and position in the south is still likely to be inflamed by events that already threaten to shake, if not disrupt, the Hariri-led government.
The United Nations Special Tribunal on Lebanon, which is scheduled to release its findings later this year, could point a finger at Hezbollah, accusing it of having played a role in the 2005 assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, the late prime minister.
The release of the report could change the equation, resulting in all agreements between Hezbollah and the rest of the government partners collapsing, and placing Unifil under pressure to disarm Hezbollah - which will openly resist.
If these internal Lebanese divisions explode, Israel may still use what it sees as Unifil's failure as a pretext to opt for war on the south, or even on all of Lebanon.
At the same time, France may still try to push the UN Security Council to give more power to Unifil, thus empowering it to search out Hezbollah in the south. But such a move would fuel an internal Lebanese explosion."
Al-Jazeera
"Four years after the end of the war between Lebanon and Israel, the role of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (Unifil), which had been entrusted with keeping the peace between the two countries, has been thrown into doubt amid intensifying threats of another war.
Both Israel and Hezbollah, the latter having been the main target of Israel's 2006 war, have stepped up their accusations against Unifil. Israel is again accusing the peacekeeping forces of failing to prevent, if not of collaborating with, Hezbollah in its replenishment of its military power in south Lebanon. Hezbollah, meanwhile, believes that "certain contingents" of Unifil are spying for, if not assisting, Israel.
Earlier this month, the French contingent of Unifil encountered resistance by residents in several villages while carrying out "capacity testing exercises", leading to injuries on both sides. The "testing exercise" included searching homes, taking photographs and questioning residents in order to identify "Hezbollah members".....
Hariri tribunal
However, Unifil's role and position in the south is still likely to be inflamed by events that already threaten to shake, if not disrupt, the Hariri-led government.
The United Nations Special Tribunal on Lebanon, which is scheduled to release its findings later this year, could point a finger at Hezbollah, accusing it of having played a role in the 2005 assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, the late prime minister.
The release of the report could change the equation, resulting in all agreements between Hezbollah and the rest of the government partners collapsing, and placing Unifil under pressure to disarm Hezbollah - which will openly resist.
If these internal Lebanese divisions explode, Israel may still use what it sees as Unifil's failure as a pretext to opt for war on the south, or even on all of Lebanon.
At the same time, France may still try to push the UN Security Council to give more power to Unifil, thus empowering it to search out Hezbollah in the south. But such a move would fuel an internal Lebanese explosion."
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