Israel’s military, the Israel Defence Force (IDF), allegedly fired at the towers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers repeatedly on Wednesday.
“This morning, peacekeepers at a position near Kafer Kela observed an IDF Merkava tank firing at their watchtower. Two cameras were destroyed, and the tower was damaged,” said UNIFIL in a statement.
They further stated that once more, they observed and received a direct and seemingly purposeful fire on a UNIFIL position.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told the UN to evacuate the soldiers of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force just a few days prior.
“The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones. The IDF has requested this repeatedly and has met with repeated refusal, which has the effect of providing Hezbollah terrorists with human shields,” Netanyahu said in a statement addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Based on the principles of peacekeeping, they are allowed to defend themselves if attacked. In accordance with the principles, UN peacekeeping operations do not serve as an instrument for enforcement.
“However, they may use force at the tactical level, with the authorisation of the Security Council, if acting in self-defence and defence of the mandate.
“In certain volatile situations, the Security Council has given UN peacekeeping operations ‘robust’ mandates authorising them to ‘use all necessary means’ to deter forceful attempts to disrupt the political process, protect civilians under imminent threat of physical attack, and/or assist the national authorities in maintaining law and order.”
A UN peacekeeping operation should employ force as a last resort.
“It should always be calibrated in a precise, proportional and appropriate manner, within the principle of the minimum force necessary to achieve the desired effect, while sustaining consent for the mission and its mandate.”
Decisions about the use of force must, say the rules be made at the appropriate level within a mission, taking into account a variety of factors such as mission capability, public perceptions, humanitarian impact, force protection, personnel safety and security, and, most importantly, the impact that such action will have on national and local mission consent.
Because of this, netizens (internet) users have been shouting that the peacekeepers should fire back.
“Fire back. Fire at will. Give the order. Fire for effect. You have the tools and the fire-power to give them a slap in the face at the very least,” wrote an X user.
FIRE. BACK.
Fire at will. Give the order. Fire for effect. You have the tools and the firepower to give them a slap in the face at the very least. https://t.co/3CkbtNx9cc
IOL