Avi Benlolo: UNIFIL turned a blind eye to Hezbollah’s UN security violations

Hezbollah’s extensive military preparations and tunnel networks could have been stopped years ago if UNIFIL had done its job

Published Oct 18, 2024  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

UN peacekeepers hold their flag, as they observe Israeli excavators attempt to destroy tunnels built by Hezbollah in 2019. Photo by Hussein Malla/AP Photo

Israel’s arch-enemy and the head of Hamas, Yhaya Sinwar, is now dead, but UN agencies tasked with protecting the peace still haven’t been held to account. Since 1978, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been tasked with maintaining peace along the Israel-Lebanon border. However, UNIFIL’s mandate to monitor and prevent hostilities has been systematically undermined by its own inability — or unwillingness — to act against Hezbollah’s growing military presence. Over the years, Hezbollah has entrenched itself in southern Lebanon, right under UNIFIL’s watch, preparing for an assault on Israel that could have had devastating consequences. Despite clear violations of UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701, which call for the disarmament of Hezbollah and forbid any armed presence south of the Litani River, UNIFIL has failed to enforce these mandates.

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Just two weeks ago, I spoke with a young woman in Israel whose family was displaced by Hezbollah. Her family, part of a rooted Christian community in South Lebanon, had lived in the region for generations. They were taken in by Israel after being driven out by Hezbollah during the group’s consolidation of control. The family had been aligned with the South Lebanon Army, a militia battling Hezbollah, but was forced to flee as the terror organization overran their homeland. Their displacement allowed Hezbollah to set up its extensive terror network, aimed squarely at Israel, while UNIFIL turned a blind eye.

The most glaring example of this failure is Hezbollah’s extensive military infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have recently uncovered hundreds of Hezbollah weapons caches, tunnel shafts and underground command centres just metres from the Israeli border. Near the town of Metula, IDF troops were shocked by the vast amount of sophisticated military equipment and supplies they discovered, including vehicles armed with heavy machine-guns, gas, combat uniforms and medical kits. The IDF even uncovered an 800-metre underground base serving as a command centre for Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, whose primary objective is to launch an invasion of Israel.

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This isn’t just a defensive measure — Hezbollah was actively preparing for war. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had openly boasted about “conquering the Galilee,” and given the strength and resources of Hezbollah, such an attack could have been far more devastating than the recent Hamas-led assault on Israel on October 7, 2023. Within a single square kilometre, IDF forces found roughly 100 Hezbollah sites, including tunnels, weapons storage, and supplies for a prolonged conflict. Many of these munitions were newly manufactured, some as recently as the previous year, showing that Hezbollah’s buildup is both recent and unchecked.

The most troubling aspect is that all of this happened under UNIFIL’s nose. How could such an extensive network of tunnels, military bases and weapons caches be constructed without their knowledge? The answer is painfully clear: they are complicit. The international peacekeeping force, tasked with ensuring security, had given Hezbollah cover to operate with impunity. Instead of confronting Hezbollah’s violations, UNIFIL has stood by while the group continued to fortify its military infrastructure.

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This is part of a broader trend among UN agencies when it comes to Israel. It’s not just UNIFIL that has turned a blind eye — UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, has also allowed terrorist organizations to exploit its facilities. UNRWA’s central headquarters housed a Hamas server centre in its basement, its schools were used as weapons depots, and some of its staff participated in the October 7 massacre. Across the UN system, agencies and international courts have been weaponized against Israel, selectively applying international law while ignoring the terrorism and violence aimed at the Jewish state.

Hezbollah’s buildup is not only a violation of UN mandates but also a direct threat to regional stability. UN Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon recently highlighted how Hezbollah terrorists have used UNIFIL outposts as hiding places and ambush sites. In one recent incident, Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops near a UNIFIL base. An Israeli tank, caught in the crossfire and attempting to evacuate casualties, accidentally backed into the UNIFIL post, damaging the main gate. IDF international spokesperson Nadav Shoshani clarified that this was not a deliberate act, but rather a desperate effort to protect their soldiers under heavy fire.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to remove UNIFIL forces from Hezbollah strongholds. “We regret the harm to UNIFIL soldiers, and we are doing our utmost to prevent such harm,” Netanyahu said. “But the simplest and most obvious way to ensure this is simply to withdraw them from the danger zone.”

The reality is that Hezbollah’s extensive military preparations and tunnel networks could have been stopped years ago if UNIFIL had done its job. But instead of enforcing peace, UNIFIL has allowed Hezbollah to grow into a formidable military force, ready to launch a devastating attack on Israel. The international community must act now. UNIFIL has proven ineffective, and its presence in southern Lebanon has only emboldened Hezbollah. If the UN does not take decisive action to dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure and remove UNIFIL from the danger zone, the consequences will be disastrous — not only for Israel — but for the entire region. There can be no more looking the other way.

National Post

Avi Abraham Benlolo is the Founder and CEO of The Abraham Global Peace Initiative (AGPI)

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