On Monday, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu affirmed his country’s continued support for UN peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), saying they are "meant to stay." This announcement comes two days before a meeting of European nations contributing to the mission.
"The day the weapons fall silent, there will still be the Blue Line (separating Lebanon from Israel), there will still be Resolution 1701 or a new resolution, and there will still be a zone that needs to be kept neutral," Lecornu said on TV Channel France 5.
"That’s why the mission is meant to stay. It was the United Nations that deployed these forces, and it's up to the United Nations to withdraw them, unless directed otherwise by the contributing nations," he added.
European countries contributing to UNIFIL (Italy, France, Spain and Ireland) are set to meet on Wednesday via videoconference to align their positions.
Lecornu’s statements echo those of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who said, "there will be no withdrawal of UNIFIL."
As tensions between Israel and the UN mission rise, five peacekeepers were injured by the Israeli army.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to "immediately place the peacekeepers in safety."
UNIFIL comprises around 10,000 peacekeepers, with the largest contingents coming from Indonesia, India, Ghana, Italy, Nepal, Malaysia, Spain and Ireland.
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