| The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had one job: Ensure no armed groups, including Hezbollah terrorists, operate in a restricted area of southern Lebanon. Not only did UNIFIL fail to do this job—it actually facilitated Hezbollah’s rearming of the region. . . by ignoring them and failing to raise red flags.
Indeed, when Hezbollah began attacking Israel from this restricted territory in October 2023, UNIFIL did nothing to stop them—nor did its bosses at the UN—for 13 long months. This failure is rivaled in dishonor and damage only by UNRWA, the UN’s agency for Palestinian “refugees.”
Now, instead of being condemned for despicable performance, UNIFIL has been assigned an integral role in the new Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. Its “new” job will be to coordinate and monitor Hezbollah’s compliance in vacating southern Lebanon, plus help dismantle any unauthorized military infrastructure and ensure only Lebanese security forces operate in designated zones.
Sound familiar? That’s exactly what UNIFIL has proved incapable of doing. Instead of disarming Hezbollah, UNIFIL allowed it to build a massive terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon’s south.
Scandalously, the media seldom report on UNIFIL’s failures, preferring instead to cover Israel’s “attacks” on UNIFIL installations or otherwise threatening or displacing “innocent” Lebanese villagers. As does Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah terrorists quarter their military operations in towns and cities—often in the shadow of UNIFIL bases. This true story, of course, doesn’t match the media’s narrative of Israel being the bad actor.
In fact, when Israel’s IDF entered southern Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure—intending to ensure safe return of 70,000 Israeli residents to their homes in Israel’s north—UNIFIL stood in the way, refusing to withdraw, despite pleas from Israeli leaders. Yet, the media and UN members blamed Israel whenever UNIFIL sites or personnel were struck.
Given UNIFIL’s shameful failure to prevent Hezbollah from arming and occupying southern Lebanon, plus UNIFIL’s renewed responsibility to rein in Hezbollah, last week’s ceasefire seems bound to collapse.
In short, UNIFIL is simply another multi-million-dollar boondoggle—like UNRWA—that needs dismantling . . . one more reason for a dramatic cut in UN funding by the United States.
Like other UN organizations, UNIFIL is well financed and staffed, but ineffective. Initially set up in 1978 to monitor Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon following an attack by the PLO, UNIFIL’s mandate was expanded following the 2006 Second Lebanon War, which Hezbollah began by invading Israel, killing eight soldiers and taking two hostages. Per UN Resolution 1701 in 2006, UNIFIL was to ensure that southern Lebanon would be “an area free of any armed personnel, assets, and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL.”
Today, UNIFIL has 10,000 soldiers and a budget of $550 million, of which the US pays one third. Many of its soldiers come from hostile Muslim countries that have no relations with Israel. Others come from countries like China, Ireland and Spain, which practice anti-Israel policies—hardly forces motivated to protect Jews from Muslim terrorists.
UNIFIL allowed Hezbollah to arm itself to the teeth—amassing a huge arsenal of more than 200,000 rockets and missiles. The Iran-backed terrorist group planned to use southern Lebanon as a base from which to launch an October 7th-style attack on Israel.
Hezbollah placed its armed positions within sight of UNIFIL observation posts, yet the UN peacekeepers did nothing to stop them. UNIFIL failed to investigate even one of the more than 3,000 Hezbollah arms depots and other military sites targeted by Israel since October 2023.
UNIFIL served at Hezbollah’s pleasure. The terrorist group prohibited UNIFIL from patrolling broad swaths of territory, and routinely harassed, assaulted, and even killed the force’s personnel. In an interview with a Danish news site, a former, unnamed UN soldier said UNIFIL was “completely at Hezbollah’s mercy,” and that their ability to report anything was extremely limited because Hezbollah terrorists would confiscate their devices if they attempted to collect evidence.
But UNIFIL is not only incompetent, it is also corrupt. Captured Hezbollah terrorists recently testified that their group actually paid UNIFIL operatives for their cooperation, including use of their outposts and security cameras to observe Israel’s military movements.
Hezbollah uses UNIFIL as human shields. The IDF recounts multiple incidents when Hezbollah’s fire came from areas next to UNIFIL posts, including one that killed two IDF soldiers. Israeli forces also discovered Hezbollah tunnel entrances adjacent to UNIFIL posts.
Mainstream media won’t report these travesties. Indeed, an NPR article entitled, “What is the U.N. peacekeeping force stationed in Lebanon?” fails to mention Hezbollah’s bribery of UNIFIL or its use of peacekeepers as human shields.
Israel tried to protect UNIFIL, only to be condemned. Israel’s leaders, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, implored UNIFIL to leave their positions for their own safety, but these appeals fell on deaf ears. It was also the IDF’s policy during the war always to warn UNIFIL whenever Israel operated in their vicinity so they had the chance to move out of harm’s way.
Instead of praising Israel, however, for trying to protect UNIFIL, world leaders condemned it. Italy and France, for example, denounced Israel for firing on UNIFIL positions, calling its actions outrageous.
Major media also maligned Israel. An article in the Guardian, for instance, said Israel “repeatedly fired on Unifil positions, as well as on medics and first responders.” As for Hezbollah’s use of human shields, the article reads, “Both Israel and Hezbollah place their forces near Unifil positions,”—a patently false and misleading statement. Not surprising, however, since the media similarly imply Israel commits war crimes in Gaza by targeting UNRWA facilities where terrorists are hiding.
Good news: Dismantling UNIFIL will be relatively easy. Since UNIFIL’s mandate must be renewed by the UN Security Council every year, the incoming Trump Administration can and should veto the resolution to renew the mandate the next time it comes up. As a fallback, the U.S. can simply withdraw all funding for the agency, which would dramatically inhibit its ability to do harm.
Please make the point when speaking with family, friends, colleagues—or in letters to the editor—that UNIFIL has been an embarrassing failure and deserves to be eliminated. If Hezbollah returns to southern Lebanon or otherwise resumes hostilities with Israel, the Jewish state has all rights simply to finish the job: Destroy the terrorist group so Israelis can return to their abandoned homes in northern Israel.
If you agree we need to spread this truth, please use your email browser to forward this Hotline issue to fellow lovers of Israel—and encourage them to join us by subscribing to the Hotline at no charge.
Best regards,
James Sinkinson, President
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)
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