United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

(UNIFIL).

   The peacekeeping force created on 19 March 1978, by United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 425 in response to Israel's incursion into southern Lebanon in pursuit of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (Operation Litani). It was mandated to be an interim force, with its field of operations originally envisioned as bounded by the Israel-Lebanon border in the south, the Litani River in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and the Lebanon-Syria border on the east. However, it was never allowed by Israel to operate in its southernmost zone—the mainly Christian border region, which in 1985 became Israel's security zone that was patrolled by Israeli troops and forces of the Israel-supported South Lebanese Army (SLA). UNIFIL was mandated to pursue the achievement of three goals: confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, restoring international peace and security in the border region, and assisting the government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area. The achievement of these goals was constrained by a number of factors, including Israel's mistrust of the UN; the absence of a strong Lebanese sovereign authority with which UNIFIL could interact; and the difficulty experienced by UNIFIL in applying its mandate with respect to the numerous extragovernmental armed militias operating in southern Lebanon, including the PLO, Hezbollah, Shi'ite Amal, and the SLA. Nevertheless, UNIFIL experienced some success in reducing the chances of war in the border region. Its original mandate was for six months, but it has been renewed every six months since 1978. The size and mandate of UNIFIL were significantly expanded following the Second Lebanon War (2006), provided in UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The strength of UNIFIL was to increase to 15,000 troops supported by international and local civilian staff. By September 2007, there were 13,349 military personnel from 29 countries, primarily European, serving with the expanded UNIFIL in Lebanon, with a budget of about $750 million.