US and Israel push to end UN peacekeeping mandate in south Lebanon risks regional chaos

By Vanessa Newby, Senior Lecturer, Politics & International Relations, Monash University
Chiara Ruffa, Professor of Political Science, Sciences Po

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) is seen by many as an essential peacekeeping buffer between Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah. But Israeli pressure, US doubts over Unifil’s cost-effectiveness and the fragile state of Lebanon’s politics means there is a risk that instead of being renewed on August 31 the mission could be ended. The stakes are high: an abrupt…

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