Netanyahu spars with UN Secretary-General over peacekeepers in Lebanon

‘UN peacekeepers have become hostages of Hezbollah,’ says Netanyahu, urging UN to evacuate its forces, even as UN Secretary-General insists UNIFIL will remain in Lebanon.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the United Nations Sunday to withdraw its peacekeeping force from southern Lebanon as fighting continues between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist organization.

In a statement issued Sunday afternoon, the Israeli premier called on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to evacuate the roughly 9,500 soldiers deployed to southern Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Formed in 1978, UNIFIL has since been tasked with monitoring the Israeli-Lebanese frontier, disarming Hezbollah, and aiding the Lebanese government to maintain control over the land between the Blue Line and the Litani River.

Amid escalations in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, however, Israel has urged UNIFIL to evacuate, saying that Hezbollah terrorists have been effectively using the peacekeepers as human shields by intentionally operating in close proximity to UNIFIL positions to minimize the likelihood of an Israeli airstrike.

At least five UNIFIL peacekeepers were injured in IDF strikes last week, including one launched to cover the evacuation of injured IDF soldiers.

“I would like to appeal directly to the UN Secretary General: The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones,” Netanyahu said.

“The IDF has requested this repeatedly and has met with repeated refusal, which has the effect of providing Hezbollah terrorists with human shields. Your refusal to evacuate UNIFIL soldiers has turned them into hostages of Hezbollah. This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers.”

“We regret the harm to UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing our utmost to prevent such harm. But the simplest and most obvious way to ensure this is simply to withdraw them from the danger zone.”

Guterres rejected the appeal, with a spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, vowing that the UN peacekeeping force would remain in place.

“Peacekeepers remain in all positions and the UN flag continues to fly”  Dujarric said  “The Secretary-General reiterates that the safety and security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed and that the inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times.”