The Blue Line - Israel, UNIFIL, and the Israeli-Lebanese Border

...All these U.N. functions were worthy objectives, but the U.N. Security Council disregarded the reality that Hezb'allah, not the official Lebanese government, was now the real power in the country, and was becoming increasingly assertive. The mandate of UNIFIL was to keep peace between Israel and Lebanon, but Hezb'allah was and is the real opponent not only of Israel, but also of any pluralistic Lebanese government. It blocked UNIFIL patrols to such an extent that only 10 percent of the patrols included Lebanese troops. It moved some of its forces south of the Litani River. UNIFIL has been unable to stop Hezb'allah from acquiring its large arsenal of weapons from Iran

Michael Curtis..
American Thinker..
19 June '13..

The world has become familiar with the Green Line, and the Red Line, supposedly a game-changing demarcation. Now it is likely to become acquainted with the Blue Line, the line devised by the United Nations on June 7, 2000 that demarcates the Israeli-Lebanese border. This results from events 22 years earlier and the hostilities that began on March 11, 1978, when members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) assaulted Israel from their base, which was virtually a state within the state, in Lebanon, killing and wounding a considerable number of Israelis. In response, Israeli forces invaded three days later and occupied most of southern Lebanon.

Almost immediately, on March 19, 1978, the U.N. Security Council met to pass two Resolutions, 425 and 426, which called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces and created the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Its mission was to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, help restore peace and security, and to assist the government of Lebanon in "ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area."

As a result of the assassination of the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom in London by a PLO group, Israel in June 1982 began Operation Galilee to expel the PLO from southern Lebanon. UNIFIL stayed behind the Israeli lines, and its role was largely limited to protecting the local population. By 1985 Israel had withdrawn from most of Lebanon but controlled part of the south, an area manned by a combination of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Southern Lebanese Army. Following the United Nations' invention of the Blue Line in June 2000, a concept respected by both sides, Israel withdrew all its forces later that year.

However, a major consequence of the continuing hostilities was the emergence in Lebanon of Hezb'allah, supported by Iran and Syria, which replaced the PLO as the dominant group in the country. Though Hezb'allah terrorists from Lebanon violated the cease fire and the Blue Line on many occasions the area remained relatively calm until 2006. UNIFIL patrolled the area, observed the movement of troops, kept contact with the different parties, and provided humanitarian assistance.

Wire Services Captions On Thin Blue Line

Honest Reporting/Backspin
03 August '10

Ugly border clash today along the Israeli-Lebanese border, a.k.a. the Blue Line. Five people were killed including IDF Lt. Col Dov Harari, three Lebanese soldiers, and Lebanese journalist.

First, bungled wire service photo captions out there incorrectly state that Israel was cutting down a tree on the Lebanese side of the border.

What the captions don't tell you is that the security fence is a few meters inside Israeli territory, and is not the actual international border. Exhibit A is Reuters:

(Read full post)

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From the Blue Line to 1701: Concepts Behind Israeli-Lebanese Relations

The initiated attack against IDF forces operating within Israeli territory in the Blue Line is in blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701


Arnon Ben Dror/Jonatan Urich
http://dover.idf.il
03 August '10

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 was approved on August 12, 2006, two days before the end of the Second Lebanon War, and called for a complete ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The resolution called for the Hezbollah terror organization to disarm and to cease all violent activities against Israel, and emphasized the Lebanese government’s responsibility to see this through. According to the resolution, Israel and Lebanon would have to honor the Blue Line, an internationally recognized border between Israel and Lebanon, and to avoid crossing it.

Moreover, the Security Council determined the size of the force to operate under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be 15,000 soldiers and expanded its authority through expanding its resources, in order that this peacekeeping force would be able to prevent any and all provocations and violent activities in southern Lebanon.

The resolution states that the UNIFIL force will “take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces as it deems within its capabilities to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind, to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council.”

The resolution also calls for the release of abducted Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, and to disarm all armed militias operating in Lebanon.

The Blue Line: an internationally recognized border between Israel and Lebanon

The Blue Line is an international border between Israel and Lebanon which was determined by the United Nations after the IDF withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Aside from some slight differences, this is in fact the line towards which the IDF withdrew upon conclusion of Operation Litani in 1978, according to UN Security Council Resolution 425. From the First Lebanon War until 2000, IDF forces remained beyond this border line. However, upon the Israeli government’s decision for a one-sided withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the IDF forces returned to Israel and remained, with recognition by the UN of a complete withdrawal by Israel to her authorized and legitimate borders.

The Blue Line is a temporary line which has not been mentioned in any official agreements between Israel and Lebanon, and which is based on the international border which was determined by the countries in 1923. That being said, it is recognized as a de facto border between the two countries.

During the Second Lebanon War in 2996, the IDF crossed the Blue Line and operated there for the duration of a month. However, upon completion of the war and the approval of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, IDF withdrew behind the internationally recognized border line.

On Tuesday morning (Aug. 3), IDF forces operated within Israeli territory on the Israeli side of the Blue Line borders, where the IDF has routinely operates in an agreed-upon manner since the end of the Second Lebanon War. Gunshots fired by the Lebanese army towards IDF forces constitute a blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and an attack on Israeli sovereignty.

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