The UN Security Council has postponed the voting session originally scheduled for yesterday morning on a draft resolution prepared by France to extend the mission of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), due to ongoing disagreements over certain clauses. It has been reported that the disagreements focused on the rejection by several countries of proposals made by Lebanon aimed at modifying the text related to the necessity of Israel's withdrawal from the northern part of the town of Ghajar and the adjacent area.
French diplomacy addressed this demand with a clause stating that the Security Council "strongly urges the Government of Israel to expedite the withdrawal of its forces from northern Ghajar and the adjacent area north of the Blue Line, in the outskirts of the town of Marjayoun, without any further delays in coordination with UNIFIL, which is actively engaged with Israel and Lebanon to facilitate such a withdrawal."
Despite the implicit acceptance of this amendment by several member states, the United States strongly objected to the mention of the town of Marjayoun, due to potential implications concerning Israel's decision years ago to annex the Syrian Golan, amidst Syria's ongoing rejection of delineating the boundaries of this area with Lebanon, despite Syrian officials stating that the Shebaa Farms area is part of Lebanese territory.
The preamble of the proposed resolution underwent a modification in its expression of "concern for," as the phrase "Israeli occupation" was removed and replaced with "Israeli presence north of Ghajar," which represents a continuous violation of Resolution 1701.
In addition to this impasse, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates joined the United States in objecting to a clause in the French draft resolution concerning the freedom of movement for UNIFIL in its area of operations. Some of these countries considered the amendment "unacceptable."
The amended clause, in the draft that was prepared on Tuesday evening in the hope of being voted on Wednesday, states that the Security Council "urges all parties to fully cooperate with the Head of Mission and UNIFIL in implementing Resolution 1701, as well as ensuring full respect for UNIFIL's freedom of movement in all operations and access to the Blue Line in all its parts, without obstacles, in accordance with its mandate and rules of engagement, including avoiding any course of action that jeopardizes UN personnel." It emphasizes that "pursuant to the Agreement on the Status of Forces between the Lebanese government and the United Nations, UNIFIL does not require prior authorization to carry out its mandated tasks, and the temporary UN force in Lebanon is authorized to conduct its operations independently, while continuing to coordinate with the Lebanese government."
A subsequent clause stating that the Security Council "demands both parties cease any restrictions and obstacles to UNIFIL personnel's movement and ensure their freedom of movement" elicited responses from some countries who considered the addition of "while continuing to coordinate with the Lebanese government" merely an "attempt to weaken the mandate granted to the UN force."
The negotiations also included objections from both China and Russia regarding the French draft resolution, especially after certain countries requested to mention "Hezbollah" by name. France responded to the Russian and Chinese demands in this matter, amid ongoing pressures to refer to the organization "Green Without Borders," which "Hezbollah uses as a cover for its military activities on the Lebanese-Israeli border."
