The Future of UNIFIL and Hezbollah Disarmament

With the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon set to expire August 31, the Security Council will once again be debating the organization’s future—though with the stakes raised dramatically this time. Five decades into what has become the densest concentration of peacekeeping troops on earth, and months after an Israel Defense Forces campaign devastated Hezbollah, UNIFIL continues to underperform in seizing the militia's weapons, investigating its violations, and reporting on its activities. Can the force play a useful role in disarming Hezbollah and solidifying the ceasefire, or should Washington veto its mandate and seek a different approach? In Beirut and Jerusalem, how do military officials view UNIFIL, and how should they prepare to work with the force if the UN decides to preserve or revise its mandate? To discuss these questions, The Washington Institute is pleased to announce a virtual Policy Forum consisting of two separate, sequential video conversations: the first with Gen. Khalil Helou (Lebanese Armed Forces, Ret.), and the second with Brig. Gen. Assaf Orion (IDF, Res.) and Lt. Col. Sarit Zehavi (IDF, Res.). Both panels will be moderated by Taube Senior Fellow David Schenker. Gen. Khalil Helou (LAF, Ret.) served in the LAF Rangers Regiment and the hostage rescue force of the military intelligence services. He is currently an associate professor at Saint Joseph University of Beirut. Brig. Gen. Assaf Orion (IDF, Res.) is The Washington Institute’s Rueven International Fellow, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, and former head of the IDF Strategic Planning Division. Lt. Col. Sarit Zehavi (IDF, Res.) is founder and president of Alma, an Israeli institute specializing in security challenges along the Lebanese border. She served for fifteen years in the IDF Intelligence Corps, initially in research and analysis and later with the Northern Command.