Report: US team visited Lebanon to evaluate UNIFIL mission
A civilian U.S. delegation concerned with the U.S. financing of U.N. missions visited military and political officials in Lebanon days ago with the aim of “evaluating the mission of the UNIFIL forces in the South,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.
According to informed sources, the delegation denied the Israeli media reports about the possibility of ending UNIFIL’s mission, stressing that “the United States is not seeking to end the mission but rather considers its presence necessary during this period.”
“Recent evaluations issued by the embassies of the nations contributing to UNIFIL indicate that Israel itself is not prepared for the departure of these forces, seeing as they still represent the first line of defense to prevent the infiltration of any groups into the occupied Palestinian territories (northern Israel),” the sources quoted the delegation as saying.
But the U.S. stance supportive of UNIFIL’s presence does not necessarily mean that the force will maintain its current mission and shape, with informed sources telling al-Akhbar that Washington is mulling the possibility of introducing adjustments to the mission of the peacekeeping force that include reducing its military and civilian personnel or lowering its budget as part of a comprehensive evaluation of global spending, knowing that the U.S. currently contributes 27% of UNIFIL’s budget.
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