Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened on Wednesday to launch an attack on Lebanon and seize new areas there, as well as destroy Beirut’s southern suburbs and displace their residents, if Hezbollah joins Iran in any attack on Israel. He also stressed that Israeli forces would not withdraw from areas they have occupied in Lebanon and Syria.
Katz threatens Nabatieh and Beirut’s southern suburbs
Katz said that if Hezbollah joins Iran in an attack on Israel, areas of Nabatieh and the Litani would be lost and become part of what he called “Israel’s permanent security zone”. He added that Beirut’s southern suburbs would be evacuated and their military infrastructure targeted, speaking of more than one million Shiites becoming internally displaced in Lebanon.
Katz described the areas occupied by Israeli forces in Lebanon and Syria as “security zones”, stressing that those forces would not withdraw from them. Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Wednesday that his country insisted on the continued presence of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, amid Israel’s occupation of villages and towns in the south.
Aoun calls for UNIFIL’s mission to continue
Aoun told Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, that Lebanon wanted the international force to remain, given the importance of the role it had played since the start of its mission, according to a statement from the Lebanese presidency.
The Lebanese president said that the circumstances resulting from Israeli attacks and the occupation of southern villages and towns, most of which lie within UNIFIL’s area of operations, made the presence of international forces extremely important. He warned that their withdrawal would create a vacuum with negative repercussions for security in the region, as well as leave no international monitoring of what was happening there.
Aoun expressed hope that the UN Security Council would respond to Lebanon’s request to retain UNIFIL’s operational mission over the coming year, particularly if Israeli forces withdraw to the international border and the Lebanese army deploys.
Lacroix said the discussions on the future of the UN presence would begin at the Security Council, saying it was important and necessary for Lebanon’s voice to be heard on the matter, as the state directly concerned. The UN official added that the aim was to support efforts to restore stability to Lebanon and the region and restore full Lebanese sovereignty, noting that the United Nations remained capable of playing a role in this regard.
Lacroix explained that the UN secretary-general had presented the Security Council with several options on the possibility of the international organisation remaining after UNIFIL’s mandate ended, and that the options had been prepared on the basis of what UN officials had heard from the Lebanese authorities.
UN discussions on the future of the international force
Lacroix began an official visit to Lebanon on Wednesday, the duration of which was not announced. He is meeting Lebanese officials to discuss UNIFIL’s future and the extension of its mission, as well as security and field arrangements related to its role in southern Lebanon and the period after its future tasks are determined.
His meetings include Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. The Council of the European Union adopted a decision on Monday to establish a new support mission in Lebanon for an initial period of three years, with the aim of strengthening the capabilities of the Lebanese army and internal security forces and supporting the country’s sovereignty and stability.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, also stressed during a visit to Lebanon on 7 and 8 October this month the need to prevent a security vacuum in the south after UNIFIL’s mandate ends.
