Israel row with Unifil peacekeepers driven by long distrust

Relations reach a new low with two sides at loggerheads amid the conflict in Lebanon.

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In the latest standoff, the head of UN peacekeeping operations rejected a call on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the forces known as Unifil to pull out of “combat areas”.

The UN force was established in 1978 after the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, and had its role bolstered in 2006 to monitor and keep the peace there after that year’s war between Israel and Hezbollah.

I’ve filmed with UN peacekeepers patrolling the 120 km (75-mile) “Blue Line” – the UN-recognised boundary that separates Israel and Lebanon - and have seen the dangerous work of demining 5 million square metres of land in southern Lebanon, where Unifil has destroyed more than 51,000 mines and unexploded bombs left over after previous wars.

But Israel accuses Unifil of falling woefully short in one of its other key responsibilities. Under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war, the UN was meant to create an area in southern Lebanon free of armed forces other than those of the Lebanese army.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9j74z7xvmo

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