Western diplomat says foreign forces an option in Lebanon after truce
Western countries have floated the idea of deploying international forces to Lebanon alongside the country's army in case of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, a Western diplomat said Wednesday.
Some 10,000 peacekeepers with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are already deployed in the country's south, but the diplomat said a separate multi-national troop deployment was under consideration.
"What is needed right now is a ceasefire and a presence trusted by both sides -- this could be the Lebanese army with international forces," the diplomat told AFP, requesting anonymity as the matter is sensitive.
"Partners of Lebanon have already been supporting the Lebanese army and are looking very concretely into how they can support it further... in the context of a ceasefire and long-term diplomatic agreement," the diplomat added.
After nearly a year of war with Hamas in Gaza, Israel shifted its focus to Lebanon last month, vowing to secure its northern border under fire from Hezbollah, ramping up air strikes on the group's strongholds and sending in ground troops.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and called for the deployment of only Lebanese government forces UNIFIL peacekeepers in south Lebanon, has come under fire for its limited implementation.
Lebanese media outlets have reported discussions on bolstering the U.N. resolution's implementation, dubbing such an option as "1701-plus".
On a visit to Beirut on Monday, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein said that "both sides simply committing to 1701 is just not enough."
"We have to put things in place that would allow for confidence that it will be implemented for everyone," he added.
The Western diplomat told AFP that "the push towards a 1701-plus is a reflection of the reality that neither side implemented" the resolution.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said this month that Lebanon was ready to bolster the army in the south after any ceasefire was reached.
UNIFIL, set up in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon, has accused Israel's military of "repeatedly" and "deliberately" firing on its positions in recent weeks.
Hezbollah, founded after Israel invaded and besieged Beirut in 1982, is the only group that refused to give up its weapons after Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, doing so in the name of "resistance" against Israel.
A U.N.-mandated multinational force including contingents from the United States and France deployed in Lebanon after the 1982 invasion, but the mission was targeted by two deadly attacks that killed almost 300 personnel.