United Nations peacekeepers supposed to keep Hezbollah from Israel’s border have instead been outmanoeuvred and intimidated into allowing the militant group to build up extensive military might, their critics claim.
Hezbollah has dramatically expanded its military presence under the noses of peacekeepers, it is claimed, at times hiding behind an environmental group considered a front for the Iran-backed terrorists.
The group claiming to be protecting the natural habitat was instead covering up the building of tunnels, firing ranges and ammunition stores, the US government claimed last year.
The failings of the Unifil mission, which costs an estimated £420 million per year, have come under scrutiny as Israel has escalated its war to stop Hezbollah barrages of missiles into its northern cities.
Finding a way to somehow restore a credible demilitarised buffer zone between Lebanon and Israel has become an urgent part of American efforts to ease tensions in the region.
Israel’s military on Sunday showed media including The Telegraph what were said to be Hezbollah tunnels and attack positions built only 100 metres from UN watchtowers supposed to ensure armed groups did not operate in the area.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, at the weekend called on the blue helmet peacekeepers to move out of the way of an Israeli ground offensive, saying they were little more than potential hostages or human shields for Hezbollah.
Five peacekeepers have been wounded in recent days as UN positions have been hit by Israeli troops during their offensive.
Another 15 needed treatment on Sunday after being affected by what Israel said was a smokescreen.
The casualties have been widely condemned, including by Britain, which said it was “appalled” by reports Israel had deliberately fired on UN bases.
Yet, an Israeli minister on Monday denounced Unifil as a “useless force” that had failed to prevent Hezbollah harming Israeli citizens.
Eli Cohen, the energy minister, said: “The UN is a failed organisation and Unifil is a useless force.
“The state of Israel will do everything to ensure the safety of its citizens, and if the UN cannot help, at least not interfere and move its people from the combat zones.”
The peacekeeping mission was set up as a temporary measure in 1978 after Israel’s invasion that year, but has since gone on to be one of the UN’s longest-running blue helmet operations.
Originally tasked with confirming Israel’s withdrawal and restoring order, its temporary mandate went on to be repeatedly extended.
Then in 2006, its remit was expanded to enforce UN resolution 1701 which was aimed at helping end the month-long 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
The resolution stipulated Israel would withdraw and Hezbollah would move north of the Litani river.
In the gap left behind, Unifil would enforce a roughly 18-mile deep buffer zone “free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Lebanese authorities and Unifil”.
Unifil troops, who are under strict restrictions on when they can use force, would monitor and report violations.
Both sides violated the resolution from the start. Hezbollah maintained a presence in urban areas of the buffer zone and Israel repeatedly carried out airstrikes.
Hezbollah’s actions became more flagrant from 2016, the Atlantic Council think tank wrote last year, with the emergence of an environmental group called Green Without Borders.
The organisation said it aimed to protect Lebanon’s green areas and plant trees and it built camps and outposts as part of its work.
But the US government last year sanctioned the group, claiming it “served as a cover for Hezbollah’s activities” and had outposts “manned by Hezbollah operatives in more than a dozen locations”.
The outposts were cover for “underground warehouses and munitions storage tunnels”, the US treasury claimed and had “impeded” Unifil inspections.
Peacekeepers’ attempts to inspect the positions were blocked by the group, who said the posts were on private property and off-limits.
“Under the cover of Green Without Borders outposts, Hezbollah members conduct weapons training at firing ranges, patrol the surrounding area and maintain containerised housing units 25m from the Blue Line,” the US treasury claimed.
At the time of the sanctions, the organisation claimed it was “not an arm for anyone”.
Zouher Nahli, its leader, who was also sanctioned, said: “We as an environmental association work for all the people and we are not politicised.”
In July, the UN secretary general wrote to the security council requesting the latest 12-month extension of Unifil’s mandate, but admitting its difficulties.
He said both sides were still violating 1701. He also said there were at least five “unauthorised firing ranges outside state control” in the area “used on a number of occasions by gatherings of individuals in military-style attire with weapons”.
He said that despite repeated requests to the Lebanese government, “visits to these sites were not facilitated”.
Since hostilities escalated after Hamas’ Oct 7 attacks, peacekeepers had often been unable to patrol or fly helicopters, and were sheltering in bunkers, he said.
Analysts said peacekeepers have also faced growing hostility from the local Lebanon population, perhaps deliberately inflamed by Hezbollah which is deeply entrenched in southern Lebanon.
The hostility and the desire to avoid flashpoints and protect troops had made it more difficult to enforce the resolution.
The Lebanese government, which includes members of Hezbollah’s political wing, has also been accused of limiting the peacekeepers’ access, and keeping them out of sensitive areas.
The Atlantic Council last year reported that among peacekeepers there was “a rueful acknowledgement that force protection has come to trump mandate implementation”.
“If Hezbollah members block a patrol from accessing a certain area, the peacekeepers will log the event and return to base rather than force the issue and risk a confrontation and possible subsequent backlash.
“There is a growing sense of disillusionment among some peacekeepers.
“They privately question the point of continuing the mission when it is unable to challenge Hezbollah’s presence and actions on the ground.”
