Europeans push back on US-Israel bid to wind down UNIFIL in Lebanon

European countries are pushing back on attempts by the US and Israel to end the presence of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon ahead of a crucial UN vote later this month.

US and Israeli officials have in recent months voiced ambitions to end UNIFIL's 47-year mission in Lebanon, an idea met with resistance from European capitals, who argue the peacekeeping force is vital to preserving stability in the troubled country.

UNIFIL's mandate expires at the end of August and will need to be renewed in a vote at the UN Security Council.

The force was established in 1978 following Israel's first invasion of Lebanon and currently has around 10,000 peacekeepers stationed between the Litani River and the Lebanon-Israel border. It has played a key role in monitoring the border area and containing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel over the past four decades.

Israel has long wanted to dissolve the force, arguing it has failed to prevent a build-up of Hezbollah forces in the region.

The move is causing divisions with the US's European allies, including France and Italy, who see UNIFIL as vital for maintaining stability in Lebanon and argue that winding it down abruptly would allow Hezbollah to reestablish itself in the area, according to the Associated Press.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month signed off on a plan to end its mandate within six months, though the Europeans have persuaded the Trump administration to support a one-year extension following by a six-month period where the force would be dissolved, according to Trump administration officials and congressional aides.

The US and Israel "want the renewal to be for a final year, during which work will be done to end the force's work" including handing full control of southern Lebanon to the Lebanese Army and removing Hezbollah from the region, diplomatic sources told Al Araby Al Jadeed, the Arabic-language sister site of The New Arab.

Lebanese officials say they want UNIFIL to remain in place, arguing that the army does not yet have the resources to maintain control over the area.

Ending its mandate early would require the army to redeploy forces away from the Syrian border and other areas of the country, and "this could have consequences for the stability" of the country, one retired Lebanese Army general told the AP.

The Lebanese Army has deployed across much of the south and dismantled most of Hezbollah's infrastructure and weapon stockpiles in the nine months since the Iran-backed group and Israel agreed to a ceasefire.

Israeli forces withdrew from most of southern Lebanon but continue to occupy five strategic areas close to the border.

Despite the truce, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets across the country.

Despite the US agreeing to back a one-year renewal, there remain divisions about how to wind down the mission.

A draft resolution drawn up by France does not set a timeframe for when UNIFIL will be dissolved but declares that the Security Council's "intention to work on a withdrawal", according to the AP.

US officials have indicated they will not support the resolution if it does not provide a roadmap for ending the mandate.

UNIFIL is likely to face pressures whatever happens during the vote, with one UN official saying that the mission could be scaled back as part of budget cutbacks across the UN.

A US official said one option was to reduce the number of UNIFIL troops while enhancing its monitoring capabilities on the ground.