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1 1 (December 27, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejyp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gressionaI Research Service Inforrning the Iegislative debate since 1914 Updated December 27, 2022 United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been deployed in the Lebanon-Israel-Syria triborder area since 1978. The mission was deployed following the 1978 Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon targeting the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which used Lebanon as a base to wage a guerilla war against Israel. Israel maintained a self-declared security zone in southern Lebanon until 2000, and the formal boundaries in the triborder area remain disputed. The United States has supported UNIFIL with the aim of bolstering the authority of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in UNIFIL's operating area (see Figure 1) in southern Lebanon, a region historically dominated by Hezbollah. Evotion of UNIFIL Mandate UNIFIL's initial mandate was to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, restore peace and security, and assist the Lebanese government in restoring its authority in southern Lebanon (a traditionally Shi'a area that became a Hezbollah stronghold in the 1980s). Israel withdrew its forces from southern Lebanon in 2000. The United Nations subsequently identified a 120 km interim boundary line between Lebanon and Israel to use as a reference for confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces. The Line of Withdrawal, commonly known as the Blue Line, is not an international border demarcation between the two states. It incorporates elements of the 1949 Armistice Line and French Mandate-era administrative boundaries between Syria and Lebanon. After Israel and Hezbollah fought a 34-day war in 2006, U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701 (2006) increased UNIFIL's troop ceiling and expanded its mandate to include monitoring the cessation of hostilities between the two sides, accompanying and supporting the LAF as they deployed throughout southern Lebanon. UNSCR 1701 authorized UNIFIL to assist the Lebanese government in the establishment of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL between the Blue Line and the Litani River, which UNIFIL defines as its area of operations. UNSCR 1701 also calls upon the government of Lebanon to secure its borders and asks UNIFIL to assist the Government of Lebanon at its request. Implementation of UNSCR i 70 1 According to UNIFIL, Any unauthorized crossing of the Blue Line by land or by air from any side constitutes a violation of Security Council resolution 1701. UNIFIL monitors violations of UNSCR 1701, and the U.N. Secretary-General reports regularly to the U.N. Security Council on the implementation of UNSCR 1701. These reports have listed violations by Hezbollah, such as the construction of underground tunnels that cross beneath the Blue Line, as well as violations by Israel, such as regular incursions into Lebanese airspace. Figure I. UNIFIL Area of Operations Notes: Created by CRS. Boundaries from ESRI and U.S. State Department. UNDOF = UN Disengagement Observer Force. Size and Structure UNIFIL is headquartered in the Lebanese town of Naqoura, 14 miles south of Tyre. Its leadership rotates among troop- contributing states; since February 2022 UNIFIL has been led by General Aroldo Lizaro Sienz (Spain). As of August 2022, UNIFIL deploys approximately 9,900 troops from 48 countries in a 1060 square km zone roughly a third the size of Rhode Island. The largest troop contributing countries are Indonesia, Italy, India, Ghana, and Nepal. (U.S. forces do not participate in UNIFIL). UNIFIL's mandate falls under Chapter VI of the U.N. Charter, which allows for the use of force primarily in self-defense, rather than Chapter VII, which would enable enforcement by military means. Since 1978, UNIFIL has reported 325 fatalities. Three- quarters of these occurred prior to 2000. Maritime Task Force. UNIFIL's Maritime Task Force (MTF) operates along the entire length of the Lebanese coastline and assists the Lebanese Navy in preventing the entry of unauthorized arms or other materials to Lebanon. Led by Germany, the force comprises five vessels (one each from Bangladesh, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, and Turkey.) In December 2022, Germany initiated the provisional handover of the Maritime Interdiction Operations Command from UNIFIL to the Lebanese Navy. UNIFIL stated that this would eventually enable the Lebanese Navy, for the first time in 16 years, to take

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