Untenable: UN must stop protecting Israel’s terror foes in Gaza and Lebanon

Picture a United Nations worker.

What do you see?

A paper-pushing bureaucrat, perhaps, aliases an ineffective peacekeeper successful a bluish helmet?

Perhaps you should ideate thing much nefarious. 

On Oct. 7, 2023, members of 1 UN organization, nan United Nations Relief and Works Agency, actively took portion in nan Hamas violent massacres successful Israel.

Last week, nan Israel Defense Forces confirmed that nan violent who commanded nan onslaught that led to nan abduction of American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin and different hostages was an UNRWA employee.

Meanwhile, successful nan months since Oct. 7, members of different UN group, nan United Nations Interim Force successful Lebanon, provided cover, intentionally aliases not, for Hezbollah terrorists arsenic they rained down much than 10,000 missiles, drones and rockets connected Israeli civilians.

The only usability UNIFIL performs astatine this constituent is to shield Hezbollah’s violent operation, which continues to frighten Israel from its bluish border. 

“We were wholly taxable to Hezbollah,” a erstwhile UN peacekeeper told nan Danish newspaper B.T. past month.

“We intelligibly had constricted state of movement,” nan worker said. “For example, we ne'er operated aft acheronian for fearfulness of Hezbollah.” 

The United Nations’ ineffectiveness and ineptitude is simply a long-running communicative among its critics.

But this world statement tin besides beryllium actively harmful.

Nineteen UNRWA unit members were internally investigated for taking portion successful nan Oct. 7 penetration and execution rampage that slaughtered complete 1,200 innocents and dragged different 240 hostages into Gaza.

A apical Hamas commandant killed successful Lebanon turned retired to beryllium nan main of a UNRWA schoolhouse — and nan caput of nan country’s UNRWA Teachers Union.

A Hamas bid room was discovered wrong UNRWA office in Gaza.

That’s why past week, Israeli lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to o.k. 2 bills essentially barring nan UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants from operating wrong Israel, and severely curtailing its activities successful Gaza and nan West Bank.

And conscionable for illustration Hamas subverted UNRWA, Hezbollah has subverted UNIFIL.

That statement was created successful 1978 to assistance Lebanon successful restoring effective authority successful nan south.

As nan IDF uncovers Hezbollah stockpiles of weapons and bunkers successful confederate Lebanon, arsenic it continued to do this week, their proximity to UNIFIL positions is striking. 

After nan 2006 warfare betwixt Israel and Hezbollah, nan UN Security Council passed Resolution 1701, giving UNIFIL 1 job: to guarantee that confederate Lebanon would beryllium “an area free of immoderate equipped personnel, assets, and weapons different than those of nan Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL.”

Their 1 occupation was to disarm Hezbollah.

Instead, nether UNIFIL’s watch, Iran’s violent proxy built an arsenal of 150,000 missiles — and became acold much powerful than Lebanon’s ain military.

Since Oct. 8, 2023, nan time aft Hamas’ scary spree, Hezbollah has fired thousands of missiles, rockets and drones astatine Israel, mounting its northbound connected occurrence and displacing complete 60,000 Israelis from their homes.

It is now clear that UNIFIL often acts arsenic a quality shield — possibly unwittingly, possibly not — for Hezbollah’s attacks connected Israelis.

In nan past period alone, complete 25 rockets person been fired astatine Israel from Hezbollah compounds known to beryllium embedded adjacent UNIFIL posts.

Hezbollah fighters are ambushing Israeli soldiers from hideouts adjacent UNIFIL positions, including an onslaught past period that killed 2 Israeli soldiers.

Since its crushed penetration of confederate Lebanon, Israel has discovered aggregate Hezbollah tunnels dug wrong 100 meters of UNIFIL positions.

UNIFIL can’t declare it didn’t know.

Six years ago, I visited Israel’s separator pinch Lebanon to spot for myself.

I warned nan United Nations that Hezbollah was digging monolithic penetration tunnels nether nan border, embedding missiles successful Lebanese homes, and violating Resolution 1701 and nan Geneva Conventions. 

We told nan UN everything.

It did nothing.

For UNRWA and UNIFIL to proceed operating successful their coming shape is untenable.

Like Hamas and Hezbollah, nan violent organizations successful which they person go intertwined, these organizations must beryllium dismantled — truthful that Gaza and Lebanon tin beryllium freed from nan power of convulsive extremists and their enablers.

Hillel Neuer is executive head of United Nations Watch, a non-governmental monitoring statement successful Geneva.