Israel to send delegation to US to sway vote on UN's Lebanon peacekeeping force: reports

An Israeli military delegation will head to the US in the coming week to sway Washington ahead of a Security Council vote on the UN’s peacekeeping force based at the Lebanon-Israel border, according to reports. 

The visit comes ahead of France's presentation of a draft resolution to the UN Security Council that will take on Lebanon's position demanding that UNIFIL work in coordination with the Lebanese army, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

The delegation will try to persuade Washington to work against the adoption of the Lebanese position, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported, citing Israeli state media.

The head of the Israeli army’s foreign affairs division will lead the delegation, Israeli news outlet Walla reported Saturday.

Israel will express its dissatisfaction with UNIFIL’s failure to stop Hezbollah from acting in the area, especially its instalment of tents in the Shebaa Farms area, Walla said.

After two decades of relative calm, tensions have risen at the Israel-Lebanon border in recent months. 

Hezbollah earlier this year set up tents in the Shebaa Farms, land claimed by Lebanon but long occupied by Israel.

The Lebanese militant group said this came after Israel continued building a fence around the northern part of Ghajar, an Arab town which straddles the two countries’ border and which Israel occupies the southern portion of.

Israel earlier this month complained to the UN over Hezbollah buildup at the border.

A UNIFIL peacekeeper was killed in an area under Hezbollah control when the vehicle he was travelling in was attacked in June.

UNIFIL's mandate was last renewed at the end of August 2022, for one year.