ROME: Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned on Tuesday against withdrawing United Nations peacekeepers from Lebanon at Israel’s unilateral request, as she announced she would visit Lebanon on Friday.
Meloni would be the first head of state or government to visit Lebanon since an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah on September 23.
Meloni’s announcement follows reports that at least five UN peacekeepers have been wounded in recent Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. Italian troops, part of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), have accused Israeli forces of deliberate firing on their positions, an act Meloni deemed “unacceptable.”
During her address to the lower house of parliament, Meloni rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s calls for the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers based on Israel’s unilateral request.
She warned that such a move would undermine the mission’s credibility and the United Nations itself. “A withdrawal based on a unilateral request by Israel would be a serious mistake,” she stated. “Our soldiers, as they have been precious all these years, will be precious again when we manage to obtain a ceasefire.”
UNIFIL, which consists of around 9,500 troops from various nations, was established following Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1978. Meloni highlighted recent incidents where Italian military positions were targeted for the first time in over a year, expressing that while there were no casualties or significant damage, the attacks were unacceptable. She called for the guarantee of security for Italian soldiers deployed in the region.
Furthermore, Meloni pointed out that while the actions of Israeli forces were unjustified, Hezbollah has also violated UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the disarmament of armed groups in Lebanon. She stressed the need for accountability on both sides and urged for a ceasefire to restore stability in the region.
