Expert: U.S. Changing UNIFIL Mandate to Target Hezbollah

Date: 06 May 2020 - 21:34

News ID: ۷۸۲۸۲

BEIRUT (Dispatches) – A senior Lebanese expert says the U.S. claims that they want a review of the mandate given to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) forces is aimed at hitting a blow to the Hezbollah resistance movement.
"American pressure comes within the battle of Israel against Lebanon in general, and Hezbollah in particular,” Brigadier General Charles Abi Nader, the Lebanese security and strategic expert, was quoted by the Arabic-language website of Sputnik as saying on Wednesday.
He said that "Washington has always been playing the game of Israeli occupation in the file, but in practice, the occupation state is always the aggressor in Lebanon, Syria and the region.”
"Hezbollah does not take any action that contradicts Resolution 1701, while Israel continues its attacks continuously to penetrate Lebanese airspace, and to cross the Blue Line at reserved points on the borders with Lebanon,” Ali Nader said.
The recent U.S. claims were followed by a closed session at the Security Council by video, during which the United Nations Special Coordinator in Lebanon, Jan Kubitsch, briefed the members on the latest report of the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on the implementation of Resolution 1701.
This was followed by the tweet from the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, Kelly Kraft, on Twitter, where she said, "Lebanon is going through an unprecedented crisis, and in need of reform that provides an economic opportunity and ends corruption.”
But Kraft claimed, "The United States remains committed to its partnership with Lebanon. But UNIFIL continues to be prevented from fulfilling its mandate. Hezbollah has been able to arm itself and expand operations, putting the Lebanese people at risk.”
Citing a source, Russia’s Sputnik Arabic said Washington wants to implement the UNIFIL instructions of the American administration, and its saying, "The Security Council must either seek a serious change to enable UNIFIL, or it should reorganize its staff and resources with tasks that can be achieved.”