German Foreign Minister Johan Wadewohl proposed sending a European Union mission to replace the United Nations Interim Force in South Lebanon (UNIFIL) after the end of its mandate, at a time when Israeli reports revealed a parallel proposal to deploy European forces in southern Lebanon to supervise the implementation of security arrangements.
According to statements reported by the newspapers of the German “Deutschland” network, Vadiful called for discussing a European mandate that would prevent the occurrence of a security vacuum following the end of the “UNIFIL” mission, considering that this might create the conditions for the withdrawal of the Israeli army “without Hezbollah returning” to the border areas.
The German Minister explained that the stability of the Lebanese government represents an opportunity that should be supported, noting that the European Union is required to play a greater role in maintaining the security and political path in the country.
The German proposal comes in conjunction with a report published by the Israeli website Ynet, which revealed ongoing discussions including what was described as the “Italian initiative,” which requires the deployment of Italian forces in southern Lebanon to supervise disarmament and prevent the return of Hezbollah members to the region, instead of UNIFIL forces.
According to the report, the proposal came after Israel and the United States refused to assign this mission to the United Nations force, while the project is still under study and no final decision has been taken regarding it.
The report added that the talks between the Lebanese and Israeli delegations also dealt with the mechanism of the Israeli army’s withdrawal from some areas in the south, as Israel proposed implementing an experimental model that would allow the Lebanese army to deploy in areas from which the Israeli army would withdraw, before expanding the experiment if it proved successful.
On the other hand, the Lebanese delegation stressed that the Lebanese army is the only body authorized to control those areas and supervise the implementation of security arrangements.
The UN Security Council decided to end the mission of the UNIFIL forces by the end of 2025, with the Lebanese army assuming responsibility for security in the region. France and Italy have also previously announced their support for launching a new European mission to support Lebanon after the end of the UN mission, while the nature of the final mandate for this force is still a subject of discussion between European countries and concerned parties.
