The United Nations in the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was created in the spring of 1978 under United Nations Resolutions 425 and 426 to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon (UN.org, 1999). Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) entered Lebanon after suffering years of attacks from the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLO) fighting out of southern Lebanon and the restrained reprisals from the IDF proved ineffectual in halting the PLO's attacks on Israeli civilians. The IDF quickly and decisively scattered the PLO forces in the regions and occupied the territory, eliciting immediate calls for withdrawal from the Lebanese government. As the PLO operated freely throughout Lebanon with only weak opposition from the legitimate Lebanese army, Israel's incursion into the country was based on a basic need for self-defense and is an entirely rational move. Not so says the Lebanese government, citing violations of sovereignty and calling on the UN Security Council to remove Israeli forces. The UN, ever-quick to condemn Israel and side with those attacking the nation, sends in UNIFIL to ensure peace is maintained and civilians are provided for, which they have proved totally incapable of doing since, well, 1945.

Forces from Fiji, Finland, France, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Nepal, and Poland make up UNIFIL, with a mandate to verify Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security, and assist the Lebanese government establish control over southern Lebanon (UN.org, 1999). Let's go ahead and dissect this operation so we can understand the total failure of UNIFIL and blatant contempt the UN holds for Israel. Israel, unfortunately, complied with the UN's demand for withdrawal, and the subsequent power vacuum left behind was filled with PLO forces which continued to attack Israel, resulting in a second Israeli invasion in 1982. As UNIFIL troops turned a blind eye to the PLO regrouping and their outright attacks on Israel, IDF troops were the only solution. International condemnation of Israel follows, as usual, and I can not begin to explain my utter disbelief at how this unabashed disregard for Israeli security from the United Nations has been allowed to continue. It makes me sick knowing the United Nations is so corrupt yet holds such sway in international opinion. Moving back to UNIFIL; as Israeli troops again pull out of Lebanon, the resulting void and UNIFIL's inability to fulfill the rest of the mandate led to PLO buildup and eventually the formation of Hezbollah under the noses of UN troops who simply looked the other way (Velshi, 2006). This is not theatrics, by any means. Rather, we can look at comments by UNIFIL Commander Major General Claudio Graziano expressing praise for Hezbollah and condemnation of Israel over their respective roles in the Second Lebanon War last summer (Shamire, 2008). Next, the complaint filed by Israel over Hezbollah violations of resolution 1701 which called for an end to hostilities between the two fell on deaf ears and elicited these stunning words from Maj. Gen. Graziano: "...Hezbollah is a social group that runs many charities", and then continues to place the blame solely on Israel (Ravid, 2008). Wait, was that a typo? Hezbollah is known for its charitable contributions to society? Understanding that Hezbollah does provide for poor Shiites in southern Lebanon, to label this group as a charitable organization in light of its lengthy record of terrorist activities is simply unbelievable.

Moving forward to 2006, we see the IDF move into southern Lebanon to eliminate the constant rocket attacks launched by Hezbollah into Israel which UNIFIL, again, did nothing to prevent. UN condemnation follows and, surprisingly, it is levied against Israel without mention of Hezbollah or Lebanon's inability to control their southern territories. What was UNIFIL doing all the while? Get ready for this one. UNIFIL broadcast daily reports on IDF maneuvers to include troop numbers, equipment, and specific locations (Marcus, 2006). Hezbollah obviously used this information to launch rockets/mortars on IDF positions and move their own forces as needed. Information from UNIFIL regarding the deployment of Hezbollah's forces was consistently vague, only specifying Hezbollah "fired rockets in large numbers from various locations". Let's all take a minute to think about that. UNIFIL is providing a terrorist group with high value intelligence they will use to launch attacks on troops deployed from a sovereign state in self-defense of their nation. Who could possibly look at these facts and not see the problem here? UNIFIL is a complete failure in every sense of the word unless you happen to be a terrorist lobbing mortars into Israeli settlements from southern Lebanon.

So where does that leave Israel, Hezbollah, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon? We have a victim state, Israel, acting in self-defense against the PLO and/or Hezbollah, both operating from within Lebanon. The government of Lebanon has been unable to prevent either of these groups from killing Israeli civilians, and when Israel moves against these terrorists the world cries foul. For the last thirty years, we have witnessed the utter failure of another peacekeeping mission courtesy of the United Nations. The United Nations is a joke. The idea of an international organization built to preserve peace and when necessary remove threats to that peace is something every state should support. The UN is not that organization. The complete failure of the United Nations is simply unbelievable. We have states such as Russia and China as permanent members of the UN Security Council, we find Algeria and Saudi Arabia on the UN Human Rights Council, and we can look at the unchecked corruption and total incompetence as reasons for withdrawal. UNIFIL has been an enormous failure, as has the United Nations in general. On occasion there have been successes, but as few and far between as they are raises a few important questions. Is the United Nations worth it? Should the U.S. continue to pay nearly a quarter of the UN's budget when neither the ends (or lack thereof) nor the means have contributed anything to international peace or security? The United States must demand reform or stop paying for the United Nations' ineptitude around the globe. We have nothing to lose from withdrawal, and we certainly have little if anything to gain from hanging around. The United Nations and UNIFIL are failures. I've never been more certain of anything in my life.

Works Cited

Marcus, Lori. "What did you do in the war, UNIFIL?." weeklystandard.com. 04 Sept 2006. The Weekly Standard. 20 Sep 2008 http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/622bqwjn.asp.

Ravid, Barak. "Israel: UNIFIL is ignoring Hezbollah violations in south Lebanon ." haaretz.com. 25 May 2006. Haaretz. 20 Sep 2008 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/987156.html.

Shamire, Shlomo. "Israeli envoy meets UNIFIL chief over praise for Hezbollah, censure for Israel ." haaretz.com. 16 Aug 2008. Haaretz. 20 Sep 2008 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1012134.html.

Velshi, Alykhan. "The United Nations' Failed Peacekeeping in Lebanon." defenddemocracy.org. 11 Aug 2006. Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 20 Sep 2008 http://www.defenddemocracy.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11777891&Itemid=102.

UN.org, "UNIFIL Mission Profile." un.org. 21 July 1999. The United Nations. 20 Sep 2008 http://www.un.org/Depts/DPKO/Missions/unifil.htm.