Netanyahu wants UNIFIL out of Lebanon. Why?
Al Jazeera
Experts warn a withdrawal will make it impossible to monitor violations of international law.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for the removal of UN peacekeepers as Israel escalates its attacks in southern Lebanon.
Experts believe this is aimed at removing international observers who could keep a record of Israel’s actions on Lebanon.
About 10,000 members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are present in a territory stretching for more than 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles) between Lebanon’s de facto southern border and the Litani River.
Israel has fired on several front-line UNIFIL positions since it launched a ground incursion into southern Lebanon in early October, claiming it aims to dismantle the infrastructure of Hezbollah, a Lebanese group that has been trading fire with the Israeli army in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said that he demands that UN chief Antonio Guterres get UNIFIL troops out of “combat zones”, alleging that their presence was providing a “human shield” for Hezbollah.
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