Lebanese soldiers and UNIFIL peacekeepers in Kfar Shouba on Aug. 26, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — A Lebanese man tried to verbally expel at least five soldiers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) deployed in the village of Jmaijmeh (Bint Jbeil) because they were not accompanied by the Lebanese Army, according to an undated video received by L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region and also circulating on social media.
“This is my land, get out of here, you work with Israel, you have no right to be here without the Lebanese Army,” the individual shouted at the UNIFIL peacekeepers. One of the peacekeepers responded that “the presence of the U.N. force is part of resolution 1701,” which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel and serves as the framework for the cease-fire agreement between these two belligerents that came into effect on Nov. 27, 2024. In the video, some UNIFIL vehicles appear nearby, but no sign of the Lebanese military institution visible.
'Rare' incident
Contacted by L'Orient Today, UNIFIL said that it did not have information regarding the video, noting, however, that such incidents are “very rare.” These new videos come after UNIFIL vehicles on patrol last Friday near Tayr Debba (Sour) were also targeted by individuals who prevented them from continuing their route.
UNIFIL, however, specified that it was recently conducting a series of exercises and maneuvers between several battalions deployed in the western sector of its mission area in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel, with the aim of “improving its operational readiness and response capability.” These maneuvers include “sensitive actions such as preventing unauthorized infiltrations, enhancing surveillance, and improving emergency response skills facing missile attacks and other security challenges.”
Created in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon, UNIFIL is mainly present in the south of the country. Tensions often occur between its patrols and residents, primarily Hezbollah supporters. U.N. Resolution 1701 significantly increased UNIFIL’s role and clarified the framework of its actions. Article 12 mentions that the “Lebanese government ... authorizes UNIFIL to take all necessary measures in the areas where its forces are deployed.”
The implementation of the resolution and the recent cease-fire agreement remains partial, while the Israeli army continues to occupy at least five positions in Lebanese territory, along the Blue Line, and according to the latest U.N. reports, Hezbollah, which effectively transferred dozens of its military positions in the south to the Lebanese Army, maintains “active armed elements” in villages in the region.
The role of the army is 'essential'
On the ground, Israeli strikes targeting the south continued on Monday. An Israeli drone strike targeted an area near a gas station in Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil), with no casualties, L'Orient Today's correspondent reported. A district of the village of Tayr Debba was also evacuated as a precaution after a resident received a phone call urging her to evacuate the building in which she lives before an “imminent bombardment.” As a precautionary measure, village residents left their homes and decided to withdraw their children from the local school. However, the building was not hit. In addition, an Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade near a shepherd close to a Lebanese Army post in the vicinity of Birket Naqqar, south of Shebaa (Hasbaya), without injuring him.
The commander of the Lebanese Army, Rodolphe Haykal stated on Monday, during a visit to the command of the 7th Infantry Brigade at the François al-Hajj barracks in Marjeyoun, that “the role of the army is essential and vital for the country’s continuity.”
“Nothing will deter us from continuing to fulfill our duty,” he said.
Municipal councils elected by acclamation in several villages in Bekaa