Foreign Minister Gideon Saar sent a letter this week to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio conveying Israel’s official position regarding the UNIFIL force in southern Lebanon.

The UNIFIL force, whose mandate expires in August, was established to enforce UN resolutions in Lebanon and prevent Hezbollah from arming itself after the Second Lebanon War.

Sa’ar’s letter states that Israel’s position is to end UNIFIL’s mandate immediately. Alternatively, if a transition period is required, the mandate can be extended for a limited period of six months to a year to allow for an orderly dismantling of the force. However, Saar emphasizes that its operations should not continue beyond that.

The minister added that this timeframe will suffice for the redeployment of Lebanese army forces in the south of the country and the organized evacuation of UNIFIL positions. During the transition period, UNIFIL will focus on specific tasks only, such as assisting in the removal of explosives and mines, training the Lebanese army in various fields, and the orderly evacuation of the organization’s positions.

Saar notes that the window of opportunity created after the last war and the weakening of Hezbollah makes it possible to advance two main goals: disarming Hezbollah and assisting the Lebanese army in gaining full control of its territory.

Saar wrote that UNIFIL has been operating in the area for 47 years and that its original purpose, as reflected in its name “United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon,” was intended to be a temporary presence only.

Saar’s appeal comes ahead of expected discussions in the UN Security Council on renewing UNIFIL’s mandate and following lengthy discussions in Israel’s political and security establishment. Saar is expected to meet with Rubio, who also serves as the U.S. National Security Advisor, during his visit to Washington next week.

There are about 10,000 UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. while the official Lebanese army has only about 6,000 soldiers.

Sarit Zehavi, a former Israeli military intelligence analyst and founder of the Israeli think tank Alma Research and Education Center, told the Associated Press that UNIFIL has played a “damaging role with regard to the mission of disarming Hezbollah in south Lebanon.”

She noted the discovery of Hezbollah tunnels and weapons caches close to UNIFIL facilities during and after last year’s Israel-Hezbollah war.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said UNIFIL continues to discover unauthorized weapons, including rocket launchers, mortar rounds and bomb fuses, this week, which it reported to the Lebanese army.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)