Why is Israel attacking UN soldiers in Lebanon?

Who are the Blue Helmets and what are they doing in Lebanon?

The troops of the “peace forces” of the UN, known by the blue color of their helmets, are soldiers and policemen from more than 120 countries deployed right now in eleven parts of the world to “help make the transition of a conflict in harmony”. In the case of Lebanon, FINUL has more than 10,500 personnel of around fifty nationalities in the south of the country, 680 of whom are Spanish. The mission was approved by the UN Security Council in 1978 to ensure Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

The presence of international troops, however, has not prevented new invasions or violations of the so-called Blue Line, the border in fact between the two countries established by the United Nations in 2000. Since 2006, following the second war between Israel and Hezbollah, the aim of its soldiers is to monitor the cessation of hostilities and guarantee the access of humanitarian aid , among others. This is established by resolution 1701 of the Security Council.

Félix Arteaga, security and defense researcher at the Real Instituto Elcano, explains in statements to the ARA that the mission in Lebanon could be described as a failure. “It works more on the humanitarian side, with programs to help the local population or have an economic impact, but not on the military side,” he says. It stands out, in this sense, that the Blue Helmets have not managed to prevent the militarization of southern Lebanon by Hezbollah nor the clashes between the militias and Israel from both sides of the border. “The mission has become of no practical use, and what they have to worry about [els Cascos Blaus] it’s to protect your own safety.”

What attacks have they suffered in recent days?

FINUL has been denouncing attacks by Israeli forces against its positions in the south of the country for days, in the area where the army is fighting the Shia militias of Hezbollah on the ground and in the air. The UN warned on Saturday that, in just three days, five members of the Blue Helmets had been injured by “deliberate” Israeli attacks, mainly at the mission’s headquarters in Ras Naqoura.

The escalation went further this Sunday when international forces reported that two tanks had “destroyed the main gate” of one of their bases and entered it “by force”.

After they withdrew, several shots were fired 100 meters to the north that emitted “smoke”, causing skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions in fifteen blue helmets, according to FINUL.

What is Israel’s argument?

Following the latest clash with UN forces, the Israeli army has admitted that one of its tanks broke into a UNIFIL base when it said it was trying to evacuate soldiers wounded in a Hezbollah attack. He assured, in any case, that the action “has not posed any danger” for the blue helmets. As for the other attacks in recent days, Tel-Aviv has attributed them to crossfire with Hezbollah and has repeatedly called on UN troops to withdraw from combat zones.

This Sunday, in fact, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, warned that their presence in the area makes them “hostages” of the pro-Iranian militia. “We have received repeated negatives, which has the effect of providing human shields to Hezbollah terrorists,” he said.

What is behind the attacks?

According to Arteaga, of the Real Instituto Elcano, at the moment it is difficult to determine if the attacks are deliberate – as the UN denounces – and he believes that it will be necessary to see if they are repeated systematically and with what intensity. At the outset, therefore, he does not rule out that these are the effects of crossfire – as Israel defends -, as well as that Hezbollah is attacking from the vicinity of the FINUL bases to put the Blue Helmets at risk and provoke the condemnation of Israel by the international community.

“If Israel wanted to deliberately beat the Blue Helmets into withdrawing, it would not do so in isolated acts […] They should be more serious attacks to see a strategic objective behind them,” he reflects.

How has the international community reacted?

Condemnation of the attacks has been widespread in the international community, starting with the UN itself, which has already responded to the Israeli government that it will not withdraw its forces from Lebanon and has accused it of again violating resolution 1701.

Protests about the attacks have also come both from the European Union – from the community institutions and from countries such as Spain, France and Italy, with troops deployed in Lebanon – and from the United States. “It is completely unacceptable to attack United Nations troops,” said the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, this Monday.

Could the soldiers respond with force against Israel?

The possibility of Blue Helmet soldiers using force in response to Israeli attacks is highly unlikely, Arteaga said. Among others, he specifies, because the rules of confrontation to which they are subjected limit the use of force to situations of self-defense in the face of attacks that should be direct and flagrant. The use of force to enforce resolution 1701, moreover, would require the endorsement of the Security Council, which would hardly take sides against Israel.

“Who could use force in defense of the Blue Helmets are the Lebanese armed forces, who formally have this responsibility assigned,” says Arteaga, who makes it clear, however, that this is a remote possibility given the history of the country’s army In the event that the attacks against the international forces went further, therefore, the researcher sees it more realistic that the UN discussed the possibility of withdrawing the troops from Lebanon or, at the very least, of withdrawing the mission to a safer area .