New UN draft extends UNIFIL term by a year, withdraws its troops within another year

A new U.N. draft text seen by AFP would extend the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission followed by its withdrawal by the end of 2027.

The force was first deployed in south Lebanon in 1978 and was expanded after the 2006 war.

The draft would decide "to terminate the mandate of UNIFIL" on December 31, 2026 "and to start an orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal... within one year."

The Security Council was initially expected to vote on Monday on a French-drafted text that would have kept UNIFIL in place for another year while it prepares to withdraw.

The issue was raised during a telephone call on Monday between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and several counterparts, an Italian foreign ministry statement said.

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot noted the importance of UNIFIL's role, the statement said.

It added that they had noted the U.N. force's support for the Lebanese Army "in the current international situation and for balance in the broader regional context."

Visiting Beirut, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said on Tuesday that Washington would support the extension of UNIFIL’s mandate for one more year.

Monday’s vote was postponed amid US and Israeli opposition to the draft text, several diplomatic sources told AFP.

Barrack told journalists from Lebanon's presidential palace: "The United States' position is we will extend for one year."

Barrack noted disapprovingly that the force costs "a billion dollars a year."